Theory of Magic
by janemac24
Summary: Sixteen-year old Emma Swan is determined to simply survive her final foster home before she ages out of the system, but Storybrooke, Maine, turns out to have more in store for her than she ever imagined. From her foster mom talking to birds to a potential magical war between two of her classmates, Emma's junior year is shaping up to be a wild ride. [cover by I-Heart-Regina-Mills]
1. Welcome to Storybrooke High

_Sixteen-year old Emma Swan is determined to simply survive her final foster home before she ages out of the system, but Storybrooke, Maine, turns out to have more in store for her than she ever imagined. From her foster mom talking to birds to a potential magical war between two of her classmates, Emma's junior year is shaping up to be a wild ride._

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters of _Once Upon a Time._

**Chapter 1: Welcome to Storybrooke High**

Emma gazes out the window of the social worker's car as the thick forest gradually gives way to coastline and the rundown buildings of a sleepy little town.

"Now, it's not Boston," Tom is explaining. "It's a small town, but I think you might find that you get into a little less trouble here." He gives her a pointed glare and Emma snorts. Like she's never watched TV and seen all the mischief small-town kids get up to when there's nothing else to do.

Still, she'll try to stay on the straight and narrow. It would be nice to live in the same place for more than six months - maybe she can even make it to graduation if this foster mom isn't horrible.

"This is Storybrooke High School," Tom points out as they drive past a large brick building. "You'll attend school here, obviously. Your foster mother is a math teacher and very highly regarded in town."

Emma already knows this - she read the entire file when the social worker had stepped into Dunkin' Donuts to get his third coffee of the trip. Mary Margaret Blanchard. She's a first time foster parent, but due to her extensive experience working with teens, they apparently think she'll be able to take on the challenging case that is Emma Swan.

"And, here we are!" Tom finally announces. They pull in front of a small apartment building on Main Street, and Emma takes in the town center. Everything looks like it's stuck in the eighties, but she supposes she can see the charm. It looks like the type of place where everyone knows their neighbor; she wonders if the town meetings are anything like on _Gilmore Girls._

Her new foster mom rushes out of the building like she's been waiting at the window all day and immediately greets herwith a hug. She's much younger than Emma expected, and a round, earnest face framed by a pixie cut makes her look even younger. She's wearing a pastel-blue cardigan and a silver cross necklace, and she looks like the kind of woman who could have been a nun if she had any ability to look intimidating. How her students don't eat her alive is anyone's guess.

"You must be exhausted from the trip," she says after everyone is introduced. "Let's get you moved in - can I help you carry anything?"

"Nope, got it all." Emma heaves her backpack over one shoulder, and Mary Margaret looks horrified.

"That's...all? All your stuff? Really?"

"You really haven't done this before, have you?"

xx

It doesn't take long to empty the contents of Emma's backpack into her small room - well, room is a bit of a stretch. It's more like a corner of the main room separated by a curtain, but she has a bed and a window and even a small closet, so she's not about to complain. Mary Margaret sleeps upstairs in the small loft; her space is bigger than Emma's but certainly not by much. There are almost no doors in the entire apartment, but somehow the bathroom has two.

"The privacy situation is...not much, I realize," Mary Margaret says guiltily after Tom leaves. "I guess we'll just have to learn to respect and trust each other."

Emma raises her eyebrows. Trust? Mary Margaret must not have read her file very thoroughly.

Emma's stomach growls and Mary Margaret's eyes widen as she checks her watch. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize how late it was getting," she apologizes. "I don't know what kind of food you like, so I haven't made anything for dinner. How would you feel about eating at the diner next door?"

"Sounds great." Emma remembers the smell of fried food coming from the building marked "Granny's Diner" when they arrived. "For future reference, I'll eat anything, so you don't have to worry about what to make."

Mary Margaret raises an eyebrow. "Anything?"

"Well, probably not, like, snails."

They both laugh, and Emma is surprised by how comfortable she feels with this woman already. Her pessimistic side knows it probably won't last, but it certainly would be nice if it did.

xx

An extremely tall girl with red streaks in her hair and an excessively short skirt places two sets of burgers and fries on the table and greets Emma's foster mom with an excited smile.

"Miss Blanchard! I heard a rumor you're teaching Pre-Calc this semester?"

"For once, the Storybrooke rumor mill got something right," the teacher says with a laugh "I've got two Pre-Calc classes."

"Well, maybe I'll be in one of them. Pretty much the only thing I'm looking forward to about school starting next week."

"That would be lovely, Ruby. By the way, I'd like you to meet someone. This is my - this is Emma Swan. She'll be living with me for a while."

"Nice to meet you," Ruby says pleasantly, reaching out to shake Emma's hand.

"Emma, meet Ruby Lucas. Ruby is a senior at Storybrooke High," Mary Margaret explains. "Maybe she could show you around, if it's not too much trouble, that is," she adds, turning back to Ruby. "Emma's going to be a junior."

"No trouble at all. Hey, you moved here at the perfect time! And you got the perfect foster mom - Miss Blanchard's everyone's favorite teacher."

"Maybe not everyone's," Mary Margaret mutters darkly. Ruby grimaces, and Emma wants to ask what that's all about, but she figures she doesn't know either of them well enough yet. "Anyway," she says, quickly brightening, "I was hoping we could stop by the school tomorrow morning. I have to set up a few things in my classroom, and they want you to take some placement tests."

"That sounds fine," Emma shrugs. She doesn't have anything better to do.

"We can hang out tomorrow afternoon if you want," Ruby offers. "I'll introduce you to everyone worth knowing, show you the very few fun things we can do around here."

Emma agrees just as the older woman behind the counter, who Emma assumes is "Granny," hollers at Ruby to get back to work.

"She seems nice," Emma observes, because Mary Margaret looks like she expects her to say something.

"She is. Most of the kids in this town are very nice. I think you'll make friends very easily."

Emma almost argues that she's always been more of a loner, but it doesn't seem like the kind of thing to say to a foster parent on the first day when you might actually want to stay. Instead, she bites into her burger and almost moans in bliss. "If I become Ruby's best friend, do you think I can get free burgers here?" she asks, and Mary Margaret laughs again.

xx

On the way out of the diner, they come to an abrupt halt when Mary Margaret almost crashes into an imposing older woman. "Madam Mayor, I'm so sorry," she quickly apologizes. "I should have been looking where I was going."

"Don't worry, Miss Blanchard. There's been no harm done," this woman, the mayor, reassures. Her eyebrows raise as she notices Emma standing behind the math teacher. "And who's this?"

"This is Emma Swan, my foster daughter. Emma, this is Cora Mills. She's the mayor of this town."

"The mayor? Wow." Emma reaches out to shake Cora's hand and tries to use her best manners. "It's very nice to meet you, Mayor Mills."

"The pleasure is all mine. How old are you, Miss Swan?"

"Just turned sixteen. I'll be a junior."

"How nice. So will my daughter, Regina." The mayor steps aside, and Emma finally glimpses the dark-haired girl who had evidently been hiding behind her mother. Her first thought is that Regina is absolutely breathtaking, perhaps the most beautiful girl Emma has ever seen. Her second thought is that the brunette does not look at all happy to be there.

"Nice to meet you, Emma," she says woodenly, staring at the floor. "Hello, Miss Blanchard," she adds reluctantly when her mother nudges her.

"Hello, Regina. I hope you've had a good summer." Mary Margaret's expression is pained.

Regina mumbles something under her breath before receiving another nudge from her mother, this one harder. "It was fine, thank you."

"Well, we should be on our way," Mary Margaret says, attempting to paint a smile on her face. The two mother-daughter pairs quickly say their goodbyes, and Mary Margaret breathes a huge sigh of relief when she and Emma are finally out the door and alone.

"Let me guess. That's one of the students who isn't obsessed with you?"

"It's a long story. A _very_ long story."

xx

The next morning, Emma and Mary Margaret are at Storybrooke High bright and early. "Emma, this is the head teacher, Mr. Gold," Mary Margaret says as they enter a small, cluttered office. "He's going to figure out which classes to enroll you in."

"Hi," Emma says shyly. There's something extremely intimidating about this man, though she can't quite figure out what it is.

"Would you direct her to my classroom when she's finished?" her foster mom asks the head teacher politely.

"Of course, Miss Blanchard. Emma, why don't you take a seat."

Gold asks her questions about her previous schooling, classes she's taken in the past. He has her transcripts, but there are so many of them he needs some clarification. Then he gives her a math test, a grammar test, and a twenty-minute writing prompt. It's all very routine, and Emma doesn't have much trouble with it. She may have some gaps in her education from changing schools so many times, but she's always been fairly intelligent.

Gold seems satisfied with her performance. He tells her he'll mail her course schedule to Mary Margaret's address in two to three days and mentions that he set up an appointment for her with the school counselor, Dr. Hopper, to help with her adjustment.

"Thank you, sir. Is that all?" Emma asks.

"Just one more thing. Before you go, I'd like you to tell me about an experience that made you feel very angry."

"I thought you said Dr. Hopper was the school counselor."

"Humor me, Miss Swan. We do this to get an assessment of a student's verbal skills - our debate team is very successful."

It's a strange request, but certainly not the strangest thing she's ever had to do at a new school. She's certainly not articulate enough to join the debate team. She struggles to find the words to explain to a perfect stranger how she feels about her birth parents abandoning her on the side of a freeway or her first adoptive parents giving her up after replacing her with their own child.

She's about to start speaking when they are interrupted by flickering lights and a knock at the door. "Come in," Gold says, annoyed, and a tall redhead hesitantly enters the office.

"Hello, Mr. Gold. I'm just here for cross-country practice, and I thought I'd drop by to see how your summer was."

"Thank you, Zelena. My summer was just fine. I've just been giving our new student some placement tests."

"Oh!" Zelena finally seems to notice Emma sitting at Gold's desk and looks embarrassed. "I didn't realize I was interrupting anything."

"It's okay, I think we're done here. You don't seem all that interested in debate, Miss Swan. Are you?"

"Not at all," Emma answers honestly.

"Well then, Zelena, would you mind bringing her by Miss Blanchard's room. I believe it's on your way to the gym."

"Of course, Mr. Gold," Zelena says sweetly, and Emma feels like vomiting. This girl is making no effort to hide her massive crush on the teacher, and it's obvious even he feels uncomfortable.

"I'm Zelena Thropp," the girl explains as she leads Emma down the hall. "I'm a senior here."

"Emma Swan, junior." Emma has to jog to keep up - Zelena's pace is perhaps more suited to the Olympic power-walking marathon than a jaunt down the hall.

"So, you just moved here recently? Have you met many people?"

"Just my foster mom, Miss Blanchard, and Ruby from the diner. I think she's in your class. And now Mr. Gold. And...um...the mayor and her daughter, weirdly enough."

"The mayor?" Zelena's face takes on a look of extreme distaste. "And that horrible Regina? I'm so sorry."

"They weren't too bad," Emma protests, feeling like she shouldn't have mentioned anything to this girl at all.

"You'll see once you get to know them," Zelena pronounces ominously. "Or, if you're smart, you won't get to know them at all. Well, here we are." The sign on the classroom door reads "Mary Margaret Blanchard. Mathematics."

"Yup, this looks like the right place. Thanks for the directions."

"Emma!" Mary Margaret says happily. "How did it go?"

Emma shrugs. "Not too bad. Tests are tests, I guess."

"Oh, hello Zelena! Nice to see you! Are you here for pre-season?"

"Hi Miss Blanchard. Yep, just a lot of running. I've got to get going to practice, actually, but I'll see you around. Maybe I'll be in your class this semester?"

"As lovely as that would be, I don't think I'm teaching anything advanced enough for you."

"Oh well. Bye!" Zelena jogs out the door and Emma halfheartedly waves after her.

"I'm glad to see you're making friends already," Mary Margaret says. "Zelena's such a nice girl."

"I don't know if we're exactly friends. She was just...dropping by Mr. Gold's office and he asked her to walk me to class." Emma grimaces. She's not sure what about the senior rubs her the wrong way, but she already can't stand her.

xx

Thankfully, there seem to be plenty of kids in Storybrooke she _can_ stand. She really enjoys spending time with Ruby and her friends Mulan, Graham, and Billy. They have some strange interests, and they're a bit sheltered from living in the same tiny town their entire lives, but maybe she likes that about them. They're all fairly easygoing and don't seem at all judgmental of her background.

_I might like this weird little place_, Emma thinks to herself as she wakes up on the Friday before she's supposed to start school. As she sorts through the new school supplies and clothes that Mary Margaret bought for her, she finds that she's already happier and more comfortable than she's been in a long time. That is, until Mary Margaret calls her to the kitchen.

"You've got mail from the school," her foster mom explains, gesturing to a large manila envelope on the counter as she flips eggs. "I think it's your class schedule."

Emma opens the envelope, only half-interested. She's been to plenty of different schools before, and class is class. She only hopes she gets some kind of study hall or free period.

Everything on the schedule looks fairly standard at first glance. She's got Pre-Calc with Mary Margaret, which might be a little strange. English, Physics, U.S. History, P.E...nothing that seems too exciting until she gets to her last period class and does a double take, nearly spitting out her orange juice.

"Um, Mary Margaret? Is this...is this a typo?" she asks hesitantly. "Is it supposed to say Music Theory or something?"

"Hmm? Oh, no, that's right. It's a real class, but only a few students are selected to take it." Taking in Emma's confused expression, she adds sympathetically, "I guess you never knew you had magical abilities before, huh?"

_No, because magic isn't real, _Emma thinks. _What the hell is wrong with this town?_

She thinks maybe it was only a dream. A really weird dream brought on by Ruby's inexplicable comment about being a werewolf the day before. But when she checks her schedule again that evening, it says the exact same thing.

Room 7. Mr. Gold. Theory of Magic.

This is going to be a very interesting semester.


	2. Playing With Fire

Thanks everyone for the reviews! Please note that I continue not to own _Once Upon a Time_ or its characters, and I make no money from this story. Please don't sue me.

**Chapter 2: Playing with Fire**

The first day of school dawns bright and early, especially because Mary Margaret wants to be in her classroom by 7:15. Emma supposes she could get to school on her own, but she'd have to either steal a bike or leave at the exact same time to complete the long walk by 8:00. Anyway, she's not going to refuse freshly-made hot breakfast and cocoa - in previous foster homes, she'd mainly subsisted on cereal.

She has math first period, so she ends up hanging out in Mary Margaret's classroom, dozing and listening to music and watching her foster mom refill the bird feeders.

At 7:45, the next student walks in. It's Regina Mills. Mary Margaret immediately tenses, but she forces herself to smile warmly and say, "Good morning, Regina." Without her mother to remind her of her manners, Regina only nods curtly at the teacher before looking for a seat.

She ends up sitting next to Emma, though she doesn't acknowledge the other girl's presence at all. It's the perfect position: one of the middle rows, in neither the "Teacher's Pet" nor the "Slacker" zone, on the side nearest to the door.

The brunette immediately puts on a pair of glasses and opens Howard Zinn's _A People's History of the United States_, and Emma raises an eyebrow. It's a bit thicker than what she typically reads in her spare time.

"Just some light morning reading?" she teases.

Regina looks up sharply from the book. Her glasses slip a bit down the bridge of her nose with the sudden movement, and her dark brown eyes bore into Emma, who would be intimidated if she didn't find it so hot.

"It's for AP History. I like to get ahead," she explains matter-of-factly. "Kindly don't disturb me."

Mary Margaret, who's been sorting through papers on her desk, shoots a worried glance their way, but Emma only shrugs. Regina returns to her book, and Emma takes the opportunity to study her new seatmate without being noticed. The brunette is dressed fairly simply, in jeans and a black v-neck, but her clothes look new and expensive and fit her perfectly. Her long, dark hair is pulled back in a braid, exposing the tan skin of her neck. She chews on her lower lip when she's concentrating, and Emma finds it so unbelievably sexy that she suddenly feels the urge to bring her own lips and teeth into the mix and -

_Whoa, calm down, Swan. It's only 7:50 in the morning and you barely know her._

The other students slowly start to file in. Ruby's in the class; she arrives dressed in her running clothes and greets both Mary Margaret and Emma with way too much energy for first period. Mulan comes in next, followed by a boy and girl who Mary Margaret addresses as Phillip and Aurora. Then there are a bunch of boys: August, Killian, Neal...Emma can't keep them all straight.

The bell finally rings, and Mary Margaret makes everyone go around the room and introduce themselves and talk about what they did over the summer like it's kindergarten instead of high school, but all the students except Regina seem really into it. Everyone in the class is a junior or senior except one tiny freshman boy named Henry who is apparently some kind of certified genius. Then Mary Margaret quickly goes over the syllabus and they review how to draw graphs using different types of coordinates. Emma vaguely remembers learning all of this once, but it's Monday morning and her brain is still stuck in summer vacation mode.

Mary Margaret divides the class into groups and assigns them some problems from the textbook. Emma finds herself working with Regina and Henry and thanks her non-existent fairy godmother, because they seem to be the two best students in the class.

"Okay, so on number two, I think we need to change the equation to polar bear coordinates," she offers.

Henry starts snickering. "Polar bear coordinates?" Emma blushes.

"It's, uhhh...a memory trick? 'Cause polar bears live in the North Pole, and the world is round, and polar coordinates..."

Henry just shakes his head and laughs harder. Even Regina grins. It's the first time Emma has seen the brunette's smile, and she doesn't even mind that it's at her expense because it's the most beautiful thing she's ever laid eyes on.

"Okay, let's get back to number two," Regina orders, and the trio makes fast work of the assignment, finishing before any of the other groups.

"I like working with you guys," Henry says after they hand in their paper to Mary Margaret. "I thought being in a class with older kids would be scary, but so far it's pretty fun."

"Well, we've got your back, kid," Emma quickly declares. "Let us know if anyone gives you any trouble." Next to her, Regina nods and offers the young boy a friendly smile that seems to be reserved for very few people.

From Miss Blanchard's class, Emma makes her way to English with Miss French. Once again, she finds herself seated next to Regina Mills. The brunette has almost finished highlighting and annotating the entire syllabus even though their teacher hasn't said a word yet.

"Hey," Emma whispers.

Regina looks startled at first, then slightly annoyed. "Hey."

"Seems like we have a lot of classes together," Emma says, trying hard to sound friendly and casual and not like she wants to start making out in the middle of English. Regina wordlessly extends her hand, but Emma only stares at it, confused.

"Your schedule," Regina hisses impatiently. Emma quickly fumbles through her backpack to find the sheet of paper, embarrassed to see that it's already wrinkled. Regina's schedule is in pristine condition and meticulously color-coded.

"Only Math and English...oh, and then we have P.E. with Locksley sixth period." Her eyes widen a bit as she goes down the list. "You're in Gold's class, too?"

"So it seems."

"You can do magic?" Regina asks, sounding almost interested.

"I have no idea. I just found out magic was supposed to be real last week, haven't even thought about actually doing it. It's kind of a lot to take in."

Regina narrows her eyes. "What do you mean you just found out - never mind, Miss French is about to start."

Emma groans in confusion as the young, energetic English teacher begins telling them about the semester's reading list like she's never spoken of something more exciting.

The rest of the day passes in a blur. It's mostly just class after class of going over rules and syllabi and getting dismissed early. Besides Miss Blanchard, the only teacher who appears to have an actual lesson planned for the first day is Mr. Locksley, and that lesson is archery.

Emma is put in a group with Mulan, Graham, and Regina, and given next to no guidance. She barely nicks the target once, but she managed to cut several of her fingers. Mulan and Graham, on the other hand, hit the bulls-eye every time. Regina's not quite as good, but at least her arrows are consistently on the target.

"You'll pick it up," Graham reassures her. "We all had Locksley for P.E. last year. It's pretty much archery every day."

"Or running," Mulan adds before unleashing two arrows at the same time. Both come within an inch of the bulls-eye.

"If you don't pick it up, you might have come after school for extra help," Regina mutters.

"Extra help in archery?"

"Locksley's very serious about archery," Mulan explains gravely.

"I think he's serious about Mills's ass in her gym shorts. I know I am."

"Stop being creepy, Graham, or I will shoot this arrow in your face." Graham raises his hands in surrender, but Emma can't help but join him in checking out Regina's backside as she squares off to face the target. She is possibly the only girl who can make their industrial-strength cotton P.E. uniform look sexy.

After class, Regina is already waiting for Emma when she leaves the locker room, although the blonde was certain she had been the first one out. "You might need some help finding Gold's room," she offers by way of explanation. Without another word, she takes off down the hall, and Emma gathers that she's supposed to follow.

Room 7 is not a classroom but an annex off Gold's office. There are four workstations facing a pedestal in the center, where she assumes their enigmatic teacher will stand. He has not arrived yet, but the two other students are already at their desks. There's a small, blonde freshman who looks nervous as hell, and Zelena.

_Who else? _Emma thinks bitterly.

"Emma, nice to see you again," the senior says sweetly. "How was your first day?" Emma just shrugs, and Zelena's expression turns to a sneer as she acknowledges the other new arrival. "Regina, you're looking...well, I suppose. It seems your mother finally got you to accept that black is a slimming color."

"Hello, Zelena."

"I'm surprised you're still in this class," Zelena continues. "You seemed to have quite a struggle with it last year. I don't think anyone would have blamed you for dropping out."

"Well, here I am," Regina mutters. She looks down, but not before Emma sees the barely concealed rage and pain in her eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't get your name," Emma says to the fourth girl, who is looking more and more horrified by the second.

"Tinkerbell," the girl responds quietly, and Emma has to work very hard to bite back a giggle. She'd thought her parents were terrible for abandoning her, but at least she wasn't named _that._

Gold finally enters, putting an end to their conversation. "Sorry I'm late," he apologizes, not looking sorry at all. Zelena says something simpering and obsequious that Emma ignores so she doesn't have to suppress the urge to vomit.

"Because we have two new students, we're going to go over our basics today. I'm sure our two veterans could also benefit from some review. I will then perform an assessment of your abilities. Starting next class, you'll all be working separately on projects I've assigned you."

The four girls nod in understanding, Emma slightly more dubiously than the others. This entire class would be an exercise in suspension of disbelief.

"Excellent. Now, let's start with the limitations of magic. Regina, would you care to explain."

"There are three laws of magic," Regina recites. Her voice is calm, but under her desk, her hands are shaking. "You can't make someone fall in love, you can't bring back the dead, and you can't turn back time."

_These are all things I already knew I couldn't do_, Emma thinks irritably.

"Correct. Very good, Regina. Now, Zelena, can you briefly describe how a practitioner controls their magic?"

"Magic is controlled by emotion, strong emotion," Zelena confidently explains, with a sweet smile at their teacher. "You simply channel that emotion into willing what you want to be done."

"Also correct. Now, there is one small caveat. Reg-"

"Magic always comes with a price," Zelena blurts out before Gold can call on Regina.

"Indeed, and the more powerful the magic, the steeper the price," their teacher adds cryptically. Emma wonders if the people in this class are aware of how insane they sound.

It doesn't take long for Gold to assess the other students. Regina and Zelena were in this class before, and Tink apparently had some formal magic training in the past and is quite confident in her abilities. He quickly sets the three of them to work, something about transfiguring things into other things that sounds like an exercise out of _Harry Potter, _and focuses all of his attention on his least experienced student.

"Your task is simple, Miss Swan. Light the candle." He conjures a candle out of thin air and places it on her desk. She simply stares at him. Yes, she's seen her classmates performing magic for the last ten minutes, but she's fairly certain she's hallucinating.

"Where are the matches?" she asks sarcastically.

"Access your emotion, and will the candle to light."

Emma stares at the candle for five minutes, but nothing happens.

"Remember that moment that made you feel angry, and really give into it," he coaches.

Suddenly, she hears Zelena remark that Regina made no progress over the summer and perhaps she just enjoys looking pathetic, and before Emma even knows what's happening there's a strong yellow flame developing on the candle wick.

"Well done, Miss Swan. It takes many students several days to master their first spell."

"Only if they're lazy cows," Zelena whispers. Out of the corner of her eye, Emma sees the older girl smirk at Regina and nudge her with her elbow. Regina loses her concentration, and the teacup she's been transfiguring shatters all over the floor.

In an instant, Zelena's entire desk is on fire. She and Tink both shriek and Emma stares, dumbfounded. Gold calmly conjures a bucket of water and puts out the fire without batting an eye.

"Class dismissed," he says nonchalantly. "Do be careful, Miss Swan."

_Did I do that? _Emma wonders. She turns to ask Regina if she saw what happened, but the brunette is already hurrying down the hallway, head bowed. Emma feels her heart clench as she sees the other girl swipe a hand across her cheek.

xx

When the day is finished, Emma drops by her foster mother's classroom to see about getting a ride home. She sees Mary Margaret standing by the window, a blue jay perched on her finger. The bird is chirping quite animatedly, and Mary Margaret is nodding in apparent understanding.

"Um, hi," Emma says awkwardly, and the bird quickly flutters away.

"Emma! How was your first day?" the pixie-haired woman asks, gesturing to the one of the chairs beside her desk. "Come tell me about it."

_Are we just going to pretend that didn't happen? _Emma thinks, but out loud she only says, "It was fine."

"How was Gold's class? You seemed a little worried about it."

"It was...fine, I guess. I'm still adjusting to the fact that magic exists, let alone that I'm supposed to do it."

"That's definitely a lot to take in. Was Mr. Gold okay? I know he can be a little intimidating."

"Mr. Gold is interesting. Nothing I can't handle." Emma debates: should she say it? Are she and Mary Margaret at that stage yet? _Only one way to find out. _"The biggest problem is that one of my classmates is a huge bitch," she finally admits.

Mary Margaret smiles sadly. "Oh, Emma. I'm sorry. Regina's not -"

"I wasn't talking about Regina."

"Oh." Mary Margaret looks surprised. "Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yes, I'm okay, but no, it's not really my story to talk about."

Mary Margaret looks like she wants to press the issue, but she only nods and smiles. "I'll be ready to go in five," she says. "Granny's tonight to celebrate a successful first day?"

"Do we really need a special occasion for burgers?"


	3. Laws of Physics

Author's Note: It occurs to me that I should put a **trigger warning** for bullying on this chapter and definitely the next two. I realize that my version of teenage Zelena is a pretty terrible person, so if you're extra-sensitive, you might want to read something else.

xx

**Chapter 3: Laws of Physics**

"So, Emma, how are you liking Storybrooke High so far?" Dr. Hopper asks.

"It's fine." Emma thinks perhaps the school counselor would like her to be a bit more forthcoming, but it's 7:20 in the morning before her second day of school, so she's not quite sure what he expects.

"Is the workload okay? Have you made any friends?"

"So far everything's going well, but it's only day two, so...who knows?"

"Fair enough." He settles back into his armchair and takes a look at her schedule. "How are your teachers? I understand Miss Blanchard is also your foster mother. Have there been any boundary issues in class?"

"Nope, she's totally professional."

"I see that you're in Mr. Gold's class. How is that?" he asks carefully.

Emma rolls her eyes. "I literally just found out magic existed last week, so it's a little strange, obviously," she says with a shrug.

"You don't seem traumatized, at least. That's a good sign."

"Can I ask you something? How exactly does this class show up on our transcripts? Does it get sent to, like, colleges or employers?"

"Theory of Magic won't be on your transcript. Gold doesn't give out grades."

"No grades?" Emma raises her eyebrows. "It seems like some of the other students are treating it like it's life and death."

"Well, without knowing who you're talking about or breaking confidentiality, all I can tell you is that for some of them, it is."

"It just seems kind of dangerous, you know? At all my past schools, kids with anger management problems got, like...art therapy. Here, they're teaching us to set things on fire with our minds."

"The therapy bit is where my paycheck comes from," Dr. Hopper jokes. "But, seriously, if you feel uncomfortable with the class, you don't have to take it. I think there are openings in Pottery or Intro to Creative Writing."

Emma considers. Neither of those classes sounds like her _thing_, but they would certainly be a much more normal way to spend her afternoon, something she could actually talk about friends outside of Storybrooke if she had any. That freshman from Pre-Calc, Henry, is in Creative Writing, and he's a lot of fun.

But then she thinks about Regina's shaking hands and Zelena's stupid smirk, and she just knows she has to stay.

xx

She walks into Mary Margaret's class at 7:43 and is surprised to see that Regina is already there, sitting in the same seat as yesterday. She's deeply engrossed in _Pride and Prejudice,_ about twenty pages from the end, and Mary Margaret is awkwardly ignoring her.

"Can I sit here?" Emma asks.

"I don't own the desk," Regina replies without looking up from the book. Her tone isn't exactly friendly, but neither is it unkind.

"Did you, like, stay up all night reading that? We only had to read thirty pages for homework."

"Miss French says it's her favorite book," Regina explains. "And I have to admit it's quite engaging."

"Yeah, I had to read it at my last school. It's pretty good, I guess."

"I like the concept of overturning first impressions, but so far the end result seems a bit forced," Regina says seriously. "It's hard to tell if her feelings are genuine love, or just a byproduct of gratitude."

"Yeah, I kind of got the impression Lizzie was only in it for his house."

Regina lets out what might be called a giggle in a less dignified girl, and Mary Margaret looks up, startled, from whatever she's doing.

"She did seem very enthusiastic about the grounds."

"Have you ever seen the movie? That place is gorgeous. I'd totally marry a guy for that house, and I'm not even into guys."

If Regina is at all put-off by the frank disclosure, she doesn't miss a beat. "Well, I haven't seen the movie yet, so I'll have to suspend my judgment. Now, if you don't mind, I really want to finish this before class so I'm not left in suspense."

xx

The second day of Theory of Magic goes pretty much how Emma expected, based on the first. She and Gold review lighting flames, and he then sets her to work transporting a small object from one location to another. It's easy at first, but the difficulty increases with distance and the object's size.

Her head begins to ache, as Gold warned her it might ("Magic always comes with a price."), so she takes a break to observe the other students. Tink is in her own little corner doing something with bright lights and levitating objects, while Zelena and Regina are doing something bigger and scarier looking with Gold.

Emma thinks she understands the general concept. Gold pretends to be some kind of attacker, and they have to use their magic to immobilize him. It's the sort of magic that could come in handy in the real world, Emma supposes. If a creepy guy's approaching you in a dark alley, a full body bind spell might be quicker than karate.

Neither one of them is very good at it. Zelena is way too awkward about using magic on their teacher, and Regina is way too tense. Still, eventually he declares that they've got the basic idea and sets them to work practicing on each other before turning to help Tink.

_This should be good_, Emma thinks sarcastically. She returns to her task while still keeping half an eye on the two advanced students. She's somewhat gratified to see that Regina succeeds in at least stopping Zelena's forward progress on her first try. It's not the full body bind, but it's something.

"Pathetic," Zelena mutters. "A fully-trained witch could get out of this in a second, as I'm sure you know. Let me show you how it's done."

Regina hasn't even finished taking her first hesitant, shaking step toward the older girl when, suddenly, her entire body is pulled off the ground. She's floating in mid-air, arms flat against her sides, and the ragged way she's breathing indicates that her chest is being constricted.

"Wow, I wasn't sure I would be able to do this well on the first try," Zelena muses. "Most witches start practicing this spell on much lighter people."

"Put her down," Emma growls. Regina's lips are starting to turn blue due to her obstructed breathing, and the look of abject fear in her eyes is enough to turn Emma's blood to ice.

"Yes, well done, Zelena," Gold says distractedly, slowly looking up from Tink's desk. "Now release the spell like we practiced."

Zelena flicks her wrist, and Regina's body slams into a bookcase before collapsing on the floor. "Oops, must have lost control. Silly me," Zelena says unapologetically, like it's all some little game and she hadn't been practically choking the life out of someone younger and weaker than her.

Emma moves to help Regina up, but the brunette shakes her head. She's trembling and gasping for air, but she somehow manages to bark out, "Don't touch me," and pull herself to a standing position.

xx

On day three, Emma is once again the first in the classroom when Regina arrives. It's only 7:35. Mary Margaret is in the teacher's lounge making copies of a pop quiz for another class - or so she claims. The brunette actually nods hello today before sitting in her usual seat.

Regina takes a deep breath and chokes out, "Emma, I'm...I'm sorry for snapping at you yesterday."

"When did you snap at me yesterday?" Emma wonders out loud. She can't remember the other girl saying anything particularly offensive.

"In Gold's class. You offered to help me up and I -"

"Oh, that? It was nothing; don't even worry about it."

"It wasn't nothing," Regina quietly disagrees, staring at her hands. "It was rude and inappropriate and I shouldn't have done that. Will you please forgive me?" she says in a rush.

"Yeah, of course. It's already forgiven. Hell, I probably would have said way more inappropriate things in your position." The fact that Regina even thinks she has something to apologize for makes Emma's heart hurt.

"Thank you." Regina takes her glasses case and a thick AP Biology textbook out of her backpack. Emma's heart sinks at the realization that their deepest conversation yet is about to end.

"Hey," she says quickly, "I found the _Pride and Prejudice _DVD in Mary Margaret's living room. The ridiculously amazing six hour A&amp;E version!"

"Okay."

"So, I was thinking maybe you might want to come over and watch it with me this weekend?" Emma asks as fast as she possibly can. Once it's all out, she stops to catch her breath before adding, "You can see Pemberley in all its glory."

Regina looks conflicted. "I would have to ask my mother. She usually likes me to stay in and study on the weekends."

"You can tell her it's a math review session." Mary Margaret has popped back into the room at the most convenient time. "We do have a small test next Monday." Looking back and forth between the two girls, she adds hastily, "I mean, provided that what you're actually planning to do doesn't break any state or federal laws. I probably should have asked that first."

Emma smirks, and Regina regards the teacher with slightly less loathing than usual.

"Regina's never seen _Pride and Prejudice _before, and I saw you had it in the DVD cupboard. So, my natural conclusion was that she should come over and watch it."

"Such a good movie," Mary Margaret sighs.

"Let me guess," Emma teases her foster mother, "you like to watch it on lonely nights with a bottle of wine, and you moon over Mr. Darcy and cry while singing 'Once Upon a Dream.'"

"Pretty much, but I'm really more of a 'Someday My Prince Will Come' kind of girl."

Emma laughs out loud, and Regina gets about halfway to a grin. "I'll ask Mother and let you know tomorrow. Thanks for the invitation, Emma...and Miss Blanchard," she adds reluctantly. Mary Margaret looks surprised to be acknowledged, and Emma wonders what exactly happened to cause such bad blood between two perfectly nice people.

xx

While the rest of her classes seem to be going pretty well for the first week, Theory of Magic quickly becomes the bane of Emma's existence. Her own skills are progressing quickly, or so Gold claims. She's still working on transporting objects, but she's moved up to poofing her giant Physics textbook all the way across the room. The irony of using that book to perform something so completely against the laws of Physics is not lost on her. Gold says that next week she'll start learning a simple levitation spell.

Not that she actually cares about her own magic. No, she hates that class because it's fifty minutes of listening to Zelena issue taunt after taunt and seeing Regina's glassy eyes and trembling hands as she desperately tries to keep herself together. Zelena mostly sticks to small stuff after the body bind incident - and Gold hasn't allowed the two veteran students any more opportunities to practice on each other - but the countless needling remarks are obviously adding up.

It's like Regina has two personalities. In math, English, and even P.E., or when Emma sees her in the halls, the brunette carries herself like a queen. She has perfect posture, her head is held high, and she walks with a purpose. She's not the most outgoing, but she does interact with people. She's willing to engage with the world. She speaks in a clear, confident voice like she's someone who matters. It's the confidence that Emma finds so incredibly alluring.

But the second she walks into Gold's class, it's gone. The self-possessed overachiever turns into a timid little girl who can barely answer a simple question without stammering, and after only a week, it's already getting worse. It's taking a huge toll on her classroom performance; even Emma's inexperienced eyes can see that Regina's magic is regressing - and if she couldn't figure it out for herself, Zelena certainly takes very opportunity to mention it. The senior is starting to learn how to teleport herself in and out of the room, and Emma is almost impressed that she can manage to master her own spells so quickly and still have time to spare for bullying.

Gold says nothing to Zelena about any of it, which pisses Emma off, but he does start giving Regina special attention and showering her with praise for even the smallest triumphs. None of this helps, however, because every ounce of positive attention from Gold brings an increase in vitriol from Zelena.

At least Emma's not having any trouble finding her anger - though if this goes on long enough, it might become difficult to control it.

xx

"First week finished! Only thirty-nine more to go," Graham says cheerfully. "How'd you like it, new girl?"

"Definitely interesting."

It's Friday night, and she's at Granny's, playing darts with Graham while Ruby sneaks over to chat when she thinks her grandmother isn't looking. He's winning - she expected as much, considering the fact that this is practically his only hobby - but Emma is holding her own, and Graham is quick to admit his surprise.

"Wow, Swan, you're definitely more skilled at darts than archery."

"I hope so, considering how much practice I've had at one versus the other," Emma mutters, concentrating. On her next throw, she just barely misses the bull's-eye. Graham and Ruby both applaud.

"Too bad Locksley won't let us do this in P.E.," Graham says mournfully. "He thinks you can defeat your enemies better shooting with a bow."

"Nolan's got us doing fencing. Got to be prepared for any impromptu swordfights that might come up," Ruby grumbles.

"You know, at most of my other schools, gym class has been about fitness, not defeating enemies," Emma remarks, careful to keep any judgment out of her voice. These kids aren't used to any outside perspectives on their lives.

"We're a little intense in Storybrooke, if you hadn't noticed."

"Oh, I noticed. At least if I don't catch on in archery, I can defeat my enemies with magic," Emma says sarcastically.

"How's Gold's class going?" Ruby's tone is sympathetic. "That guy is, like, the definition of intense."

"It's...different."

"Nobody ever talks about it much," Graham observes. "Regina acts like it's Fight Club or something."

Emma figures she might as well take the opportunity to ask. "Speaking of...Ruby, you're on the cross-country team, right? So, you're friends with Zelena?"

"I wouldn't say we're exactly friends, but we're on the team together. She's a little hard to get to know."

"Have you ever noticed her being...well, an asshole?"

"No," Ruby says, surprised. "She's always perfectly pleasant to everyone. Quite honestly, she's a little plastic. I'm not sure if she's genuinely nice, but she's never been mean - that I've seen, anyway."

"She's a little like Regina, actually," Graham adds. "But also different."

"Regina used to be so different, though. She was really sweet and friendly her freshman year. We were study partners in Miss Blanchard's geometry class. Then one day she just...shut down. I don't know what happened. It was so weird - oh, sorry, guys. Granny's glaring at me. Gotta go!"

Emma thinks she might have some idea of what happened. On her next turn, she pretends the dartboard is Zelena's heart. She hits three bull's-eyes in a row.


	4. One Step Forward, Five Steps Back

A/N: Thank you so much for all the feedback! I'm so overwhelmed by the positive response to this story, and I'm trying to get the updates to you as fast as possible while still maintaining quality and not getting fired for writing at work. ;)

**TRIGGER WARNING**: bullying, some blood, references to self-harm and suicide.

**Chapter 4: One Step Forward, Five Steps Back**

Regina shows up at Emma and Mary Margaret's apartment late on Saturday afternoon. She's dressed very neatly for a weekend in a freshly-pressed Oxford shirt, and Emma is immediately embarrassed to be seen in the same tank top and sweats she slept in, but Regina doesn't seem to notice. Emma has just finished making a bowl of popcorn when Mary Margaret comes in with several bags of groceries.

"Hello, Regina," she says pleasantly. "How is your weekend going so far?"

"Hi," Regina mumbles like it physically pains her to say even one syllable to the teacher.

"Will you be staying for dinner? I'm planning to make lasagna tonight, if that interests you."

Regina looks like she wants to snap that it doesn't, but her eyes quickly meet Emma's and she just says, "Maybe."

"We'll see how much of the movie we want to watch," Emma quickly declares. "Should we get started?"

Regina nods her assent, and Emma flashes Mary Margaret an apologetic look before leading her guest to the living room. She wishes she could have a crush on a girl who doesn't hate her foster mom quite so much, but the heart wants what it wants.

xx

"Are you the kind of person who hates talking during movies, or am I allowed to make conversation?" Emma asks as the opening credits start.

"What do you think?"

"Well, I assume your viewing habits are similar to your reading habits, so..."

"I'm not normally very chatty while watching movies, but I might make an exception for you," Regina says, and if Emma didn't know any better, she'd say the brunette's tone is almost flirtatious. But her expression turns serious when she says, "As long as you don't mention Gold's class. It's bad enough thinking about it on weekdays."

"I'll keep that in mind."

The two girls sit silently, watching the Bennet family freak out about their new rich neighbors. Emma is sprawled across half the couch with the bowl of popcorn on her lap, while Regina is sitting at the opposite end with perfectly erect posture - Emma is pretty sure her back isn't even touching the sofa.

"Do you ever relax?" Emma asks curiously.

Regina looks confused. "I am relaxed."

"If you say so. What do you think so far?"

"I think I feel horrible for Lizzie and Jane, but I already knew that from the book. Also, it's an interesting casting choice that Jane looks absolutely nothing like the other four sisters."

"Yeah, and that she's supposed to be the most beautiful one, but she's a bit plain and Lizzie is completely gorgeous."

"I think Jane is pretty, too. But that's always how it is in movies and TV; they have to have the most beautiful actress as the romantic lead, or she gets overshadowed and it messes everything up," Regina states matter-of-factly.

The girls are quiet for a few more minutes while the Bennet girls fuss about the ball.

"So, I know you don't want to talk about Gold's class, but I have to ask: why are there only four students?" Emma wonders. "We can't be the only four with magic in this whole town."

"We're not," Regina says reluctantly. "It's not common, but there are a few more at the high school, not to mention some adults and younger children."

"Why aren't the others in our class?"

"Most of them have been at some point, but it's not for everybody. People come and go. Some drop out, some get asked to leave."

"Gold kicks people out? Why?"

"Why do you care? You could just quit if you don't like it."

"Just...curious."

"Lots of reasons. Lack of effort, bad attitude-"

"Sociopathic tendencies?" Emma guesses.

"No, those are actually encouraged. Can we please change the subject now?"

"Okay, tell me about your awesome braid. Did you do it yourself?" Emma asks, studying Regina's hairdo in wonder. The other girl almost always wears her hair in a long French-braid down her back, but this one is a cut above the ones she's seen before, with lots of complicated side sections that must have taken forever.

"Yes."

"Geez, that's amazing. How did you learn to do that?"

"Miss Blanchard taught me, actually," Regina says, suddenly sounding uncomfortable.

"Was it some kind of special geometry lesson?"

"No, not in math class - she used to babysit me when I was little. She'd probably teach you, too, if you asked her."

"Nah, I don't have that level of fine motor skills. You've seen me in archery." Regina smirks. "You could just...do it for me?"

"You want me to braid your hair? Really?"

"Isn't that what girls are supposed to do when they hang out? Braid each other's hair and gossip and stuff."

"I wouldn't know," Regina sighs. "But I will braid your hair for you if you promise to stop talking."

Emma feigns hurt puppy-dog eyes. "I thought you said you'd make an exception for me."

"I did, but your current behavior is the very definition of getting an inch and taking it a mile. Now sit on the floor and shut up - she's about to meet Mr. Darcy."

Rolling her eyes, Emma settles on the floor at the other girl's feet. She'd like to continue talking and flirting, but leaning back with her head in Regina's lap and the brunette's long, graceful fingers running through her hair feels fairly close to perfect. She'd gladly stay silent forever if it meant this moment never had to end.

It's Regina who breaks the silence first. "What do you think about Charlotte Lucas? I've been having trouble deciding if she's supposed to be a sympathetic character or just a foil for Lizzie."

Emma shrugs. "I don't think she's supposed to be a bad person. I know Austen was pretty strongly against settling for the wrong guy, but I always thought Charlotte was just making the best of a bad situation."

"I agree. I just wish...I mean, Mr. Collins? Really?"

"My English teacher at my old school had this theory that Charlotte was actually a lesbian and in love with Lizzie."

"Really?" Regina cocks her head sideways in the way she does when she's thinking hard that Emma finds absolutely adorable. "I can kind of see it. Is this the same English teacher who thinks Lizzie's only in it for the estate?"

"No, that theory is all me, because Pemberley is fucking awesome."

"So you've mentioned."

"I'm telling you, I would totally change teams for that house."

"Do you want to just fast-forward to the part with Pemberley?"

"Do you not like the movie?"

"No, it's...I do like it. But I'm pretty sure the whole point of you showing it to me in the first place was the house porn, and it seems like we still have a few more hours before that happens. And I'm not sure if my mother will believe that Miss Blanchard spent her entire Saturday evening tutoring me."

"Okay," Emma says agreeably, reaching for the remote. "Pemberley sighting and then the happy ending, and we'll call it a day?"

"Sounds perfect. Your hair's finished, by the way."

Emma reaches her hand back to touch Regina's handiwork. "Well, it _feels_ beautiful, but I'll postpone my trip to the bathroom mirror until after the movie, if that's okay."

"You look beautiful, too. I mean, your hair," Regina quickly corrects herself. "Some of my best work, if I do say so myself. But not as beautiful as Pemberley - holy shit!" she says with a sharp intake of breath. "I see what you mean."

Emma is glad that the brunette's attention is entirely focused on Mr. Darcy's house so she can't see her pink cheeks or the huge, stupid grin that won't wipe itself away. She's not sure if it's caused by Regina calling her beautiful or using uncharacteristically coarse language to describe the world's sexiest house.

Emma watches the rest of the movie with her head leaned against Regina's knee. She almost expects the other girl to resist the physical contact, but Regina actually relaxes into it, even gently running her fingers over Emma's new hairdo once or twice. That is, until Mary Margaret walks in about five minutes from the end, and Regina instantly acts like an electric rod has been shoved into her spine.

"I'm about to set the table, and I was just wondering how many places," she says awkwardly. "Regina, would you like to stay for lasagna? I added some red pepper flakes for you."

Regina takes a slow, deep breath before turning to meet the teacher's gaze. "Okay."

xx

After Regina leaves, Mary Margaret beckons Emma to sit next to her at the kitchen counter, expression serious.

"You really like Regina, don't you?" she asks.

"Um, yeah. I'd like to think we're becoming friends," Emma says awkwardly, because she isn't used to discussing these kinds of things with adults in her life.

"Am I correct in assuming you'd like to be more than friends?" Emma keeps her expression carefully neutral, and Mary Margaret continues, "I have eyes and ears. And don't worry, I'm not bothered by the fact that you're interested in girls. It's just...be careful, Emma."

"Look, I know you two don't like each other, but I really don't think Regina is going to do anything-"

"That's not what I'm worried about." The pixie-haired woman sighs deeply, obviously conflicted. "Look, I don't know how much of this is even my place to say, but I've known Regina for a long time, and it's pretty obvious to me that she likes you, too, even...even if it's not in a romantic way. And that's why I want you to be careful, because she doesn't let people in easily, and if you do anything to hurt her, even inadvertently...I just worry about her, that's all."

Emma nods. "I get it. Thanks M&amp;M."

"For what it's worth, I think you've been good for her already."

"You're a really good teacher, you know," Emma tells her foster mom with a smile. "Looking out for a student you don't even like."

"Actually, I like Regina just fine. I've known her since she was a little girl, and she's always been very special to me. She's the one who doesn't like me."

"Care to shed any light on why? I just don't get it."

Mary Margaret's eyes darken. "Without getting into too much detail, let's just say she blames me for ruining her life."

"Did you?"

"Yes," the teacher says sadly. "It was unintentional, but it's the biggest regret of my teaching career, maybe even my life."

Emma's eyes widen. This sounds much more intense than she previously thought. "Seriously? What did you do?"

"Nothing I have any right to tell you about, but maybe she will someday. In the meantime, just...be careful."

"You already said that."

"And I'm saying it again because I mean it."

xx

On Monday morning, Regina arrives in the classroom at 7:30 and greets Emma with as much enthusiasm as the blonde has ever seen her show for a person. She even nods hello to Mary Margaret before opening a brown paper bag.

"The apple trees in our orchard are starting to bloom," she explains, offering each of them one of the perfectly red fruits.

Mary Margaret handles the apple reverently, like it's made of gold, and her eyes are filled with an emotion that Emma can't even name. Emma, on the other hand, immediately takes a large bite of hers.

"This is the best apple I've ever had," she says with her mouth full. "I'm not even kidding."

Regina flashes a shy smile before donning her glasses and opening a thick volume that Emma assumes is about the Salem witch trials, based on the cover illustration. She reads intently while Emma completes her Physics homework and Mary Margaret grades quizzes. The only sound is the occasional crunching of apples.

xx

On Wednesday, Gold has to step out in the middle of class, and all of Emma's senses are instantly on alert. The four girls are each working on different things: Emma is making her backpack float in midair, Zelena's still doing her disappearing act, and Tink is magically changing her hair color. Gold has somehow decided the way to get Regina out of her "slump" is to focus on something completely unrelated for a week, so she's working on the basics of self-healing. Needless to say, it's not going well, but Zelena naturally feels the need to say it anyway.

"It's a wonder Gold continues to bother with you," the older girl observes, leaning lazily against the bookshelf. "I can't tell whether your power is actually that unreliable, or you're just incompetent at using it, but this is sad to watch."

"Then don't watch, Zelena. I'm pretty sure I liked you better when you had poofed out of the room," Emma snarls.

"It seems you've appointed yourself the cow's little guard dog. How sweet. But Regina knows I'm right, which is why she's utterly failing at one of the most basic acts of magic."

Regina flinches, but her face remains stoic, and Emma is proud of her for that. Unfortunately, Zelena isn't too far off about the "utterly failing" part - whatever Regina is attempting to do to heal herself is having the exact opposite effect. What started out as a tiny paper cut on the base of her thumb has become a deep gash running about halfway down her forearm.

"If you're trying to slit your wrists, dear, there are less complicated methods," Zelena taunts. "Why don't you speed it up and finish the job? Just think about all the people it would benefit if you weren't around anymore - or even better, if you hadn't been born at all."

Regina stares harder at her wound, eyes growing frantic as it continues to bleed more instead of less. "Shut up, Zelena," Emma yells furiously. "Regina, you know that's not even true. Don't listen to her."

"Oh, but you know it _is_ true, Regina." Zelena smirks and gets right up in her rival's face. "Think about Dani," she says quietly. "Dani would still be alive if you had never been born."

The effect of this comment is instantaneous. Regina's carefully controlled expression immediately crumbles, and she starts to sway slightly on her feet. Emma swoops in to help the brunette lower herself to the ground before she collapses. The gash on her arm spreads all the way up to her elbow and begins bleeding more and more profusely.

Zelena sniffs in annoyance. "I'll get Mr. Gold - he might find it problematic if a student bleeds out in the middle of class," she says before disappearing in a puff of green smoke.

Regina squeezes her eyes shut as a few stray tears leak out, and Tinkerbell voices the same frightening thought that's popped into Emma's head: "What if she doesn't bring him back?"

Emma bites back her fear and tries to take charge. "We have to stop the bleeding," she says quickly, ripping off her hoodie and tying it tightly around Regina's arm. "Do you know anything about healing?"

Tink shakes her head. "I've studied a little bit of self-healing, but doing it on others is much more advanced magic. She has to think happy thoughts."

"Happy thoughts, Regina, okay?" Emma says gently, crouching in front of the other girl. "Think about something happy. Can you do that?"

Regina just shakes her head.

"Zelena's not in here anymore. That's good, right? And, umm...you got an A+ on the Pre-Calc test. I saw your paper," Emma tries desperately. She doesn't have much experience talking people off of ledges, and never when the stakes felt this high. She looks down and sees the gray fabric of her sweatshirt stained red and brown with Regina's blood and feels like she's going to vomit.

"Emma," Regina rasps, "I can't."

"Yes, you can," Emma says with far more confidence than she actually feels. "You can, and you have to." She grips the brunette's uninjured hand in what's meant to be a reassuring gesture, and at that moment something that feels like an electric shock jolts both their bodies. Emma finds herself knocked sideways by the force of it, but when she sits up, she sees that Regina's wound has completely healed and a bit of color is starting to return to her complexion.

"What the hell was that?" asks Tink, who was thrown across the room by the force of the magic, and Emma only shrugs because she was thinking the exact same thing.

The classroom door opens, but it's Miss French standing there instead of Gold. "I was walking down the hall and heard a loud sound. What happened?" she asks wearily, taking in the three girls sprawled on the floor and the bloodstains on everyone's clothes.

"Nothing. Nothing happened," Regina says quickly, with an angry glint in her eye that tells Emma and Tink there will be trouble if they contradict her. The two blondes exchange dismayed expressions, but they nod along in agreement.

"Okay, then." Miss French sounds like she doesn't believe them for a second. "Just be careful, girls. Magic can be dangerous."

xx

Mary Margaret has to stay late for a math department meeting, which is fine with Emma because she wants to use the walk home to clear her head. She takes a long detour through the woods, taking care to break every fallen stick in her path. When that doesn't work, she stops by the river to throw rock after rock at the toll bridge.

She manages to let off a little steam, but she still has the desire to destroy something, so she takes out the rest of her rage on Mary Margaret's toaster.

An hour later, the toaster is good and destroyed, and Emma suddenly realizes what she's done and that it has the potential to ruin her relationship with the best foster mother she's ever had, and she panics. She finds some tools in a drawer and is struggling to repair the damage when the math teacher finally arrives home.

"Is the toaster broken?" she asks, confused.

"Wasn't when I started with it," Emma mutters. "I'm really sorry, Mary Margaret. I'll replace it tomorrow, I promise."

"Don't worry about it. It pretty much always burned my toast, anyway. Is everything okay?"

"It's - yeah, it's fine. Just...not the greatest day." Part of her longs to spill her guts to Mary Margaret, but she gets the feeling that Regina would really not appreciate it. If her foster mom doesn't stop being so nice, though, it's going to be hard not to give into the temptation.

"I'm sorry, honey," Mary Margaret says sympathetically. "We can talk about it, if you want. Would you like something to eat? I was thinking of whipping up some mac and cheese, or we could go to Granny's or just order pizza."

"Actually, I'm not feeling so great. I might just go to bed."

"Okay. I hope you feel better soon."

Emma looks down so she doesn't have to see Mary Margaret's concerned eyes and quickly retreats into her room, closing the curtain behind her. Then she flops onto her bed and tries to suppress the angry tears that are threatening to escape her eyes. Half of her wants to sprint through the town and find Regina, wherever she is, and just wrap the brunette in her arms and tell her that everything will be okay. The other half wants to break every bone in Zelena's body. Since she can't do either of those things, she settles for burying her face in her pillow and hoping sleep will come take the images from Gold's class out of her head. It doesn't.

xx

The next morning, Regina comes into class at 7:47 and sits right down without acknowledging anyone.

"Hey," Emma whispers. "You okay?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" the brunette answers dismissively. "If you'll excuse me, I have some biology reading to finish before the bell."

Regina quickly turns away and puts on her glasses, and Emma sighs. Apparently, they're back to square one.


	5. A Piece of Pie

Disclaimer: I continue not to own Once Upon a Time. If someone could fix that for me, that'd be great.

No particular warnings for this chapter, but there is perhaps slightly more coarse language than in previous installments. Thanks once again for your continued support and feedback.

xx

**Chapter 5: A Piece of Pie**

It turns out that math class with an unfriendly Regina Mills is torture, especially when Mary Margaret chooses that day to assign group work. The brunette addresses Emma, and even Henry, only in short, clipped sentences when she is forced to speak at all. It doesn't help that Mary Margaret can't resist sending worried, questioning looks their way every five seconds.

The group sits in awkward silence after their graphs are finished.

"Henry, how's the fantasy novel coming along?" Emma attempts to ask.

"I'm sure Miss Blanchard would appreciate it if you didn't contribute to the overall din in the classroom," Regina snaps.

Henry looks confused. "It's the same volume it normally is, and Miss Blanchard doesn't care." Almost as if on cue, Killian starts laughing at something, and Mulan angrily overturns his chair. The ever serene Miss Blanchard doesn't even bat an eye.

"Well, I care. You're giving me a headache." Regina abruptly stands and asks Mary Margaret if she can go to the nurse's office. The teacher blinks several times and nods before shooting Emma a glance as if to say they will definitely be talking about this later.

"So, about that book..."

"It's pretty good, I guess," Henry says noncommittally. "But I'm having a little trouble making the magic seem realistic. Hey! Maybe I could watch you guys in Gold's class sometime so I can see how it's done."

"Umm...yeah. No." Emma quickly shakes her head. "Sorry, kid, but that's kind of a terrible idea. If you want, I could give you the cliff-notes version."

Henry shrugs. "That would help, actually. Do you want to meet me in the library during lunch?"

xx

Regina shows up to English class, supposed headache and all, but she makes it perfectly obvious that she intends to ignore Emma. It throws the blonde off her game, and she can barely put together a comprehensible sentence even thought their discussion topic that day is Elizabeth Bennet's visit to Pemberley.

History and Physics are a little better because Regina isn't in those classes, but Emma still can't get the brunette off her mind. She wishes Regina would stop ignoring her, of course, but she can't really blame her because she's been there before. Well, sort of. She's obviously never almost killed herself with magic gone wrong, but she knows what it's like to feel like you have to face all your crap alone and pretend to the world that you're okay. It's pretty much the story of her life.

She also knows how terrifying it is the first time someone sees that you're really not okay and never have been. She knows what it's like to want to run far away and never have to feel vulnerable again.

Unfortunately, the one thing she doesn't know is how to overcome it, so as much as she wishes Regina would let her in, she probably wouldn't be much help if it ever actually happened.

xx

Henry is already in the library when Emma comes in with her lunch, and she's instantly on guard because he's chatting with none other than Zelena Thropp.

"Hello, Emma," she says pleasantly. "I was just telling your little friend all about how magic is performed. His book sounds really interesting."

"Zelena," Emma growls, making no effort to hide her dislike of the older girl. "Don't you have people's lives to ruin?"

Zelena just smirks and says, "I'll see you this afternoon," before walking out of the library with a carefree flip of her hair.

Henry raises one eyebrow. "Hostile, much?" he asks. "What was that about?"

"That girl is a bitch. Don't talk to her."

"Whoa. What did she do to you?" Emma doesn't respond, and Henry's eyes suddenly take on a gleam of understanding. "What did she do to Regina?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure you do. You have that look."

"What look?"

"The look people get when someone threatens the one they love."

"Okay, kid, Regina is not 'the one I love.' I don't know what gave you that idea." Emma flatly denies the accusation. Sure, she thinks Regina is pretty and sometimes sexy, and she'd like to kiss her, and there's virtually nothing that gives her greater pleasure than making the other girl smile and laugh, but _love_? Love is for fairytales and maybe those adorable elderly couples who have been married for fifty-plus years, but definitely not for Emma Swan.

"Probably the same thing that gave everyone else that idea," Henry explains reasonably. "It's blatantly obvious that you're in love with Regina. I'm just calling it like I see it."

"Well, maybe you need to get your eyes checked."

"Whatever. Let's get back to talking about magic. Zelena said something about strong emotion controlling it, and everyone always talks about anger, but I was wondering if there are any other feelings that could lead to a release of magical power?"

It's then that Emma realizes she's in completely over her head with this conversation. It's possible that she's in completely over her head with everything.

xx

They're doing archery in P.E., again. She should have realized the other kids weren't joking around about Locksley's obsession with the sport. Maybe next semester she can change to Nolan's class - fencing definitely sounds more up her alley.

Regina is all business, and she wears a game-face that rivals Mulan's as she lets her first round of arrows fly. They're all within two inches of the bull's-eye, and Graham gives a low, impressed whistle.

"Damn, Mills. You've either been practicing in secret, or you stole Locksley's magic bow."

"Locksley has a magic bow?" Emma asks. "I thought he was some kind of archer god." Everyone ignores her.

Regina scowls. "I would never steal."

"Only one way to know for sure," says Mulan. "Give the bow to Swan and see if she can actually hit the target."

"Fa, did you just make a joke?" Graham laughs. "I didn't know you had it in you."

"Ha ha, everyone's such a comedian today," Emma says sarcastically. "Give me that thing." She shoots and purposely misses the target - it's not like she hasn't gotten a _little_ more competent after two weeks of practice.

"Guess it's not magic after all," Mulan says. "Sorry for doubting you, Regina."

"That, or there's no magic powerful enough to make Swan shoot straight."

Emma playfully pretends to kick Graham in the crotch. Next to her, she thinks she sees the corners of Regina's lips curl upward in the beginning stages of a smile.

Emma has to admit she's a little surprised to see that Regina has already disappeared when she exits the locker room after class. She's grown accustomed to the brunette waiting to walk to Gold's class together. She briefly considers that Regina may have chosen to skip the class today - Emma certainly wouldn't have blamed her for it - but as she rounds the corner, she sees her standing rigidly in front of the classroom door, eyes tightly shut.

She stops a safe distance away and watches for a moment while Regina clenches and unclenches her fists and takes about twenty deep breaths. Then, the brunette opens her eyes, squares her shoulders, and walks into class. Completely amazed, Emma follows, unable to keep a grin off her face. If she didn't already know it, she's now convinced: Regina Mills is fucking amazing.

xx

Emma is grateful that Gold's class passes without any remarkable incidents: Zelena seems too confused that Regina isn't dead or seriously injured to make any of her usual snide remarks, and Gold is watching everyone like a hawk. Emma wonders how much Miss French told him, if she even told him anything - they don't really seem like two people who would talk much. She's on her way to the parking lot to jog home with Graham when she almost crashes into Mary Margaret in the hallway.

"Emma, I'm glad I ran into you," her foster mom says with a forced smile. "Do you have a minute? I'd like to talk to you about something."

Emma stiffens as she follows Mary Margaret into her classroom. "Is this about my test score?" she asks. "Because I promise to study harder next time and go to extra help and everything."

"What? No, of course not. I mean, your B+ wasn't the best score in the class, but it certainly wasn't the worst. I don't think it's anything to be concerned about, unless you do." Emma sighs in resignation as Mary Margaret continues, "No, this is about whatever happened yesterday with you and Regina."

"Nothing happened yesterday with me and Regina," Emma argues futilely.

"Last night, you broke the toaster and went to bed without eating dinner, and I'm pretty sure I heard you crying in your room. And then this morning, Regina was in full-on ice queen mode. Come on, Emma. Even if I had no social awareness whatsoever, it's pretty obvious that _something_ happened."

Emma decides to lie. "Fine, you're right. Regina and I had a fight, and she's pissed at me. Nothing major - I'm sure we'll both get over it soon enough. Can I go now?"

She's almost halfway out the door when Mary Margaret says, "Nice try."

"Damn it."

"You probably could have gotten away with it if it was anyone else, but you forget how long I've known Regina. If she was really angry at you, as you claim, she wouldn't have willingly sat next to you. I know all about Regina's anger - I've spent quite a bit of time on the receiving end of it."

Emma groans. Why does Mary Margaret have to be so damn perceptive sometimes? "Okay, you win. We didn't have a fight. Something else happened, but that's all I'm going to say because it's none of your business."

Mary Margaret flinches a tiny bit at the harshness of her tone, and Emma feels badly about it for a second, but the teacher quickly regains her composure. "Maybe it's not my business, but _you_ are my business," she says, gently putting a hand on Emma's shoulder. "I know we haven't known each other very long, but I'd like to be here for you, if you'll let me."

It's all Emma can do not to burst into tears and throw herself into her foster mother's arms, because that's one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to her. "Thanks, M&amp;M. And I do want to let you, but this...this isn't really about me."

Mary Margaret nods like she's not at all surprised. "Okay, I guess you can be on your way then. See you at home later?"

"Yup, see you soon!"

Just as Emma is about to disappear down the hallway, Mary Margaret calls after her, "Hey, Emma! If, hypothetically, without naming any names, there's another student who's dealing with something tough...you could maybe let that student know that I'm always here to listen, in any capacity she or he is willing to trust me."

xx

On Sunday afternoon, Emma is home alone with strict instructions to watch over two pies that are in the oven while Mary Margaret reads to patients at the local hospital. The teacher is having open tutoring hours at her apartment that evening because, as she puts it, some students are desperately in need of extra help but too proud to seek it without the enticement of free food.

Emma has just finished removing the blueberry pie and rotating the apple one one-hundred-eighty degrees so it cooks evenly when she is surprised by a knock at the door. She opens it to find the last person she ever expected on the other side.

"Um, hi, Regina," she mumbles. The brunette has barely spoken to her for the last few days. "You're a few hours early for the study session. Mary Margaret is-"

"Volunteering at the hospital. I know."

Emma's brow furrows. "How do you know her schedule?" she asks, even though that's probably the least important of all the questions she could be asking.

"It's what she's done every Sunday for as long as I can remember. It's a small town. Everyone knows everything about everyone," Regina says impatiently. "I'm not here for math help; I came to talk to you. May I come in?"

"Yeah, sure," Emma stands aside for her guest to enter, which Regina does reluctantly even though she's the one who asked to come inside in the first place. The two girls stand in uncomfortable silence before Emma exhales and asks, "So, what brings you to this neck of the woods?"

"I...I just want to say thank you for...saving my life, I guess. And I want to apologize for the way I've treated you these last few days. I just - no, I don't have an excuse. I'm sorry."

"Regina," Emma says quietly, "you have nothing to apologize for. At least, not that I know of, and definitely not to me."

"I shouldn't have been so rude to you."

"I've dealt with ruder people."

"Well, then I'm sorry for that, too." Regina sighs and fidgets with the ring on her finger. "I just...I don't know what to do," she admits.

"About Zelena?"

"I can't - I have to do something about her. I have to deal with this, but...I don't know how."

"Come sit," Emma says, beckoning to the brunette to follow her into the living room.

Regina perches awkwardly on the edge of the couch, her hands clasped on her lap and her posture almost unnaturally straight. "I didn't want to burden you with this, but I don't know who else to talk to."

"It's not a burden," Emma argues.

They're interrupted by a beeping timer, and Emma quickly rushes into the kitchen to remove the apple pie from the oven. She briefly considers running out the door because she knows the impending conversation is going to be so far out of her depth, but then she reminds herself that Regina didn't run and forces her feet back into the living room.

"You bake?"

"Me? No way. Mary Margaret bakes. I just get bribed into taking things out of the oven because I have nothing better to do."

"Mary Margaret, of course," Regina says softly. It occurs to Emma that it's the first time she's heard the brunette refer to their teacher by her given name, and she wants so badly to ask about that, but now is neither the time nor place.

"So, your Zelena problem," Emma begins, trying to channel a combination of Dr. Hopper and Mary Margaret, "how long has it been going on?"

Regina shrugs. "I don't even know. It happened so gradually. When I first started taking Gold's class last year, she was...fine. Maybe even nice."

_She just started taking Gold's class last year? As a sophomore? _Emma wonders in surprise. She'd assumed...but there was no time to wonder about that, now. There were more pressing issues.

"And then?" she asks.

"I didn't notice at first, but day by day she started to get less nice until...well, you've seen where we are now."

"Have you considered talking to someone about this?" Emma asks carefully. "I mean, I know you're talking to me right now, but what about like, a professional? Or at least a teacher? Someone in power. She's a pretty serious bully. She tried to kill you."

"She tried to convince me to kill myself," Regina corrects. "It's different."

"Semantics. And what about that body bind incident?"

"Oh, that? My mother does that at least once a week. It wouldn't have killed me."

"Your mother...?" Emma trails off, unsure of how to even begin to broach _that_ issue. "Anyway, like I said, bullying. I've never been one to spill my guts to teachers, but this situation is pretty intense."

"Who am I supposed to tell?"

"Maybe start with Gold? It's his classroom, he needs to know what's going on. Or maybe...Mary Margaret?" she suggests, because it's what her foster mom asked her to do, even though she's pretty sure it won't go over well.

"Gold obviously already knows what's going on," Regina argues. Her eyes harden as she continues, "And I'm not going to entrust any more of my secrets to Miss Blanchard."

"Um, okay. What about Dr. Hopper?" Emma asks desperately.

"I don't need a shrink."

"I'm not saying you're crazy or anything, it's just...someone to talk to?"

"That's why I'm here. I don't need to talk about my feelings, I need action. You're a woman of action - help me. What would you do?"

"About Zelena? I'd probably drop out of Gold's class," Emma answers honestly. "And if that didn't put an end to it, I'd find a way to move to a new foster home or get caught stealing something so I could end up in juvie and get away from it all."

Regina grimaces. "That sounds like letting her win."

"That's why you're you and I'm me."

"Did you really go to juvie?"

"Yeah, but we'll talk about that some other time," Emma promises. "I can't deal with that right now. Anyway, we're talking about Zelena."

"I don't run," Regina says seriously.

"I know."

"Any other ideas?"

"Maybe you could start by not giving a shit what that bitch thinks of you? Realize that you're so much better than her and she's just talking out of her ass, and not let it get to you?"

"I _don't_ give a...a shit," Regina mumbles.

"Not very convincing. Say it louder."

"I don't give a shit what that bitch thinks of me," the brunette manages to spit out, in a tone that sounds almost confident.

"Good start," Emma says with a warm smile, and Regina looks fairly proud of herself.

The door suddenly opens and both girls jump up, startled.

"Hey, Emma, did you take the pies out?" Mary Margaret asks, before she catches sight of their visitor. "Regina! Hello! Are you here for the study session? Because you don't really need it - I'm probably going to end up re-teaching most of Algebra 2 today."

"Oh, no," Regina says quickly. "I was just...on my way out."

"I see. Would you like a slice of pie before you go? The apples aren't from your orchard, but I still think it turned out pretty well."

"Um..." Regina looks down and bites her lip. Emma thinks she recognizes something in her expression. "I'd better not, but thanks."

"Regina - sidebar discussion," Emma hisses, pulling the brunette into the bathroom and shutting the door.

"What? I don't have to eat everything your foster mother prepares."

"This isn't about Zelena calling you fat, is it? Because you're not," Emma whispers. This, at least, is something she's got some experience dealing with. "Not even a little. You have, like, the ideal hourglass figure or whatever it's called."

Regina's face flushes. "I just...I gained a lot of weight freshman year and I haven't been able to-"

"Hey, look at me. You're not overweight; you're perfect. And even if you were, you would still be perfect."

"Really?" There's something almost pleading in Regina's big brown eyes.

"Really," Emma replies softly. "And remember what we said about Zelena?" Regina nods. "Now is the perfect time to start. Say it."

"I don't give a shit what that bitch thinks of me."

"Great. Now, do you like apple pie?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to eat some right now, even if it was cooked by a person you hate, with apples from the wrong orchard?"

"Kind of," Regina admits.

"Then if you want a piece of pie, you're going to eat a fucking piece of pie. Maybe we can even put some ice cream on top."

"Why would you put ice cream on apple pie?" Regina questions. "It takes away from the taste of the apples."

Emma groans. "Whatever, you're such an apple snob."

"I thought you said I was perfect."

"Perfectly snobby."

Regina laughs, grabs Emma's hand, and drags the blonde out of the bathroom to face a confused Mary Margaret.


	6. Bring It

A/N: Hello, dear readers. Please enjoy this chapter of mostly sickeningly-sweet fluff - consider it the calm before the upcoming storm of wicked Zelena. (There's a little bit of the storm beginning at the end of the chapter. She's cruel: you have been warned.)

Please note, as always, that I do not own these characters, I am only borrowing them to make myself (and hopefully you) smile.

xx

**Chapter 6: Bring It**

When Emma and Mary Margaret walk into Storybrooke High School on Monday morning, they are both incredibly surprised to see the front office filled to capacity with very official-looking people. Among them, Emma sees Mr. Gold, obviously, Mother Superior from the convent, and Mayor Mills herself. Though she can't hear anything through the glass door, it's obvious they are in the midst of an intense argument.

"Wonder what that's about," Emma mutters. For an instant, she considers the possibility that Regina might have told the mayor about Zelena and Cora Mills showed up to kick some ass on her daughter's behalf, but she quickly dismisses it. Even if Regina was the type to run to her mommy, her mommy is not exactly the type that's easy to run to.

Mary Margaret shrugs. "We'll probably find out soon."

Sure enough, Regina is in the classroom already. She has her nose in a book, as usual, but she puts it down immediately when the pair walks in.

"Did you hear about Killian Jones?" she asks urgently. From what Emma has previously observed of the brunette, she's not much of a gossip, so this must be good.

Emma groans. "What did he do?" She's barely spoken to Killian - only observed him in her math and physics classes - but Mulan absolutely despises him, which tells her something because that girl never hates anyone frivolously. She never does anything frivolously.

"He didn't come to the study session last night," Mary Margaret says in a concerned tone. "He really needed the help with polynomials."

"I think he had other things on his mind - apparently he came in to work on something for woodshop yesterday and cut off his hand."

"His hand?" Mary Margaret looks mortified.

"On purpose?"

"What? No, I don't think so, but he won't let Gold or Mother Superior reattach it with magic. His parents are really angry - they want to sue the school."

Mary Margaret cringes. "That would explain all the suits in the front office at this hour," she sighs before turning toward her desk and raising her eyebrows at the large basket of apples she sees there.

"These are - wow, um..." the teacher's voice briefly falters, but she clears her throat and continues quietly, "Are these for me?"

"For your next pie," Regina explains. "You shouldn't have to use inferior produce."

Mary Margaret inexplicably seems on the verge of tears, so Emma tries to lighten the mood. "Oh, come on, was the last pie really that bad? You seemed to enjoy it well enough."

"Well enough is the key phrase. The pie was well-made, but better apples would have improved it. Miss Blanchard isn't offended."

"Not at all." The teacher dabs at her eyes with a tissue, which both girls pretend not to notice.

"Your family should open a farm-stand," Emma remarks. "You could make bank with those apples."

"Actually, that's what my mother's family did when she was younger. But then she ran for mayor and didn't have time for anything else."

"Well, if she gets tired of being mayor..."

"Like that'll ever happen," Regina says darkly. She adjusts her glasses and picks up her book again, which Emma knows is her cue to take out her own homework and stop talking.

The two girls read in companionable silence for a while before Ruby bursts into the classroom, brimming with fresh gossip about Killian's situation. The senior is undoubtedly the best source of information in town due to eavesdropping on people's conversations at Granny's every morning and evening. She claims that his refusal to let anyone reattach his hand is because he wants to get a prosthetic one shaped like a hook. The strangest thing is that neither Ruby nor Regina seems at all surprised.

"People in this town are fucking ridiculous," Emma mutters under her breath.

xx

It's a beautiful day, and Regina invites Emma to eat lunch with her out on the soccer field. The blonde is beyond ecstatic until she realizes that an invitation to dine with Regina Mills only means that you're allowed to sit quietly in her presence while she ignores you in favor of her history reading.

Still, Emma can't complain about the opportunity to study the girl of her dreams in her natural habitat - Regina seems about a thousand percent more relaxed outdoors than indoors - or the view of her ass in her tight black jeans. The brunette is lying on her stomach in the grass, propped up by her elbows, and she's concentrating so hard she barely moves except to flip the pages of her book or adjust her glasses which keep adorably slipping down the bridge of her nose. Her long hair is out of its customary braid, flying free in the slight breeze, and Emma, who is sitting cross-legged next to her, has the strongest urge to run her fingers through it, but she resists.

Eventually, Regina reaches into her backpack to pull out her lunch, and Emma can't force herself to stay quiet any longer.

"Really? An apple sandwich?" she teases.

"Apple and cheddar, with a bit of mustard. What? It's delicious, unlike your lunch," the brunette snaps, gesturing to Emma's sloppy joe from the cafeteria.

"This isn't so horrible," Emma protests, taking a bite. She immediately spits it out and admits, "Actually, yes, it is. It's absolutely disgusting."

"Here." Regina rolls onto her side and hands Emma half of her own sandwich. "That's inedible, and you need your strength for archery."

"Mary Margaret keeps offering to make my lunch - maybe I should take her up on it."

"You probably should." Regina is watching her carefully, and Emma finally realizes the other girl wants to see her reaction to the apple and cheddar combination. She immediately takes a bite.

"It's good," she says, chewing slowly. "A little weird, but good."

"Something being unfamiliar to you does not automatically make it 'weird,'" Regina huffs, rolling back onto her stomach and reopening her book.

"Hey, I never said weird was a bad thing. I like it."

"The word has a pejorative connotation."

"Fine. Your sandwich is not weird. It's _unusual_. Like many things in Storybrooke."

"You think Storybrooke is weird?"

"I just said it's unusual! Stop making assumptions, woman!" Emma feigns annoyance, and Regina hides a giggle behind the pages of _A People's History of the United States_.

The brunette's expression grows serious as she asks, "So, what do you think? About Storybrooke? Do you like living with Mary Margaret?"

"Storybrooke is really...different...from any of the places I've lived before," Emma says slowly, carefully. This town may be weird, but it's Regina's home, and she doesn't want to say anything insulting.

"Where did you live before?"

"Mostly in and around the Boston area. Lots of different foster homes, plus the stint in juvie I mentioned yesterday."

"Right," Regina says quietly. "I spent some time in Boston when I was younger. It's a nice city, but compared to here it's just a little..."

"Loud? Overwhelming?" Emma guesses. The brunette nods. "What were you doing in Boston?"

Regina immediately starts to clam up. "Oh...um...nothing interesting. My dad is a lawyer, and he...uh...had to go there for work sometimes." Emma guesses there's way more to this story, but she doesn't pry and quickly changes the subject.

"Living with Mary Margaret is interesting. I really like her," Emma admits. "Hopefully I can stay with her until I'm old enough to get out of the system."

"How does that work?" Regina asks curiously, turning back onto her side and granting Emma her full attention. "I mean, how do you decide to stay or go?"

"It's not really my decision. If the family likes you and has nothing else going on, you stay. If not, you get sent somewhere else - a different family or a group home or something. The longest I've been in one home is three years, the shortest was two weeks. It varies."

"That sounds terrible," Regina observes.

Emma makes no attempt to deny it. "The system's not the greatest."

"How do you...get out of it? Can you?"

"There are three ways, pretty much. You can end up back with your birth parents, get adopted, or turn eighteen. Number one isn't an option for me, and number two seems highly unlikely, so it's looking like option three."

"What happened to your birth parents?" Regina asks. "I mean, if you don't mind talking about it. You don't have to if you're not-"

"No, it's okay," Emma says quickly, surprised that she actually means it. She usually hates talking about her situation with kids who have actual families and roots. They rarely understand, but somehow she gets the feeling that Regina might. "I never knew them. Someone found me abandoned on the side of a freeway when I was a baby - there was no sign of any parents."

"Oh," Regina whispers. She refrains from making any of the stupid, unhelpful comments people often say, instead reaching out to gently take Emma's hand in her own.

Emma clears her throat. "Yeah, so they obviously don't want me, and even if they did, it's not like they have any claim to parental rights anymore."

"You could get adopted," Regina suggests.

"No one's going to adopt me at this stage of the game," Emma says. There's no self-pity in her comment; it's a fact of life that she accepted a long time ago. "People want to adopt babies and sometimes toddlers, not high school juniors."

"What about Mary Margaret?"

"Mary Margaret's great, and I would really like that - I think. I mean, I've only been with her for a couple of weeks. But I don't like to get my hopes up."

"When I was younger, I used to wish she would adopt me," Regina says with a hollow laugh.

"What happened between you two?" Emma asks, but Regina only shakes her head and lowers her eyes to their joined hands, running her thumb over Emma's knuckles.

"So, what happens then? If she doesn't adopt you?" the brunette asks.

"Best case scenario, she keeps me until I'm eighteen and then I go off to live on my own. Worst case...she doesn't, and I pack my bag and move onto the next home."

Regina slowly looks up and meets Emma's eyes with her own. "When you move onto the next home, do you usually keep in touch?"

She inhales slowly before answering, but the pause clearly tells Regina everything she needs to know. Emma's heart sinks as she sees the other girl's eyes fill with tears.

"Hey, don't cry," she whispers. "It's just that I've never had anyone worth keeping in touch with before. Besides, Mary Margaret seems to like me, so I don't think I'll be going anywhere for a while. You could hate me by then."

"I could never hate you; you're my friend." Regina blinks multiple times and stares intently at Emma. "You have to promise, if or when you ever leave Storybrooke, you won't...forget."

Emma smiles softly and laces her fingers together with Regina's. With the other hand, she reaches up to touch the brunette's cheek and wipe away a stray tear with her thumb. "You don't have to worry about that; I could never forget the girl who fed me my first apple sandwich."

Regina's face lights up with a huge smile. "The first of many, I hope."

"Don't push it. Anyway, like I said, the plan is to stick around this crazy town for a while," she says lightly and starts to remove her hand from Regina's face, but the brunette quickly reaches up to cover it with her own.

Emma feels a giant grin of her own developing, and she realizes that even if she and Regina never become more than just friends, this is the best feeling she's ever had. It's more than just the butterflies in her stomach: she feels safe, she feels accepted, she feels wanted and _needed_. Even if she leaves Storybrooke tomorrow, she will absolutely never forget the girl who first gave her this feeling.

Unfortunately, she doesn't get to bask in it for very long, because both girls hear footsteps rapidly approaching. They abruptly spring apart, only to sigh with relief when they see it's just Henry.

"Sorry, am I interrupting something?" he asks, glancing quizzically between his two Pre-Calc partners.

"Of course not," Regina says primly, sitting up and painting a pleasantly serene expression on her face.

"Maybe," Emma complains, and he gives her a knowing grin before plopping on the grass beside the pair. "Sure, kid, just make yourself at home, uninvited."

"You're always welcome to eat with us, Henry," Regina says.

"Well, I _was_ in the library, but then I got treated to the sight of Miss French making out with Mr. Gold, and that was-"

"Wait a minute!" Emma interrupts, screeching. "Miss French and...Mr. Gold?"

"Right."

"Young, hot Miss French and our creepy magic teacher?"

"That is what he said, Emma."

Emma turns to glare at Regina. "How are you acting so calm about this?" she demands.

"It's been going on for a while now. Everyone knows about it."

"Well, I didn't," the blonde complains. "I can't even believe this - _he's_ her Mr. Darcy?"

"Why does he have to be Mr. Darcy?"

"Well, he's not Wickham or Collins, and he's definitely not Bingley. Plus, Miss French is totally a Lizzie, and, knowing him, I bet he made a bad first impression."

"Is _Pride and Prejudice_ really your only basis for understanding heterosexual relationships?" Regina asks.

"I'm pretty sure it's the only book she's actually read cover-to-cover."

"Hey!" She pretends to whack the freshman on the head with her lunch tray. "That's...accurate."

xx

P.E. class that day is, amazingly, _not_ archery but some strange game of Locksley's own invention that resembles Capture the Flag, played in the forest just off the school grounds. It's a huge improvement, at least by Emma's standards, although she's not quite sure she understands the rules. It's a lot of running around like lunatics and climbing trees and setting booby-traps, and she and Regina are still laughing about it as they walk into Theory of Magic.

"Seems like you two got some exercise," Zelena remarks. "That's nice. You could use it - one of you, anyway."

Emma instantly turns worried eyes toward Regina, but the brunette only smiles sweetly and says, "Yes, it was a very boisterous game. And the forest is so lovely in the early autumn. Isn't it, Emma?"

Emma nods encouragingly.

_I don't give a shit_, Regina mouths, and both girls crack up.

"I don't see what's so funny," Zelena snarls.

"That's okay, dear. Nobody cares what you think."

Zelena blinks her eyes twice in confusion before turning back to the spell book on her desk. _Good job_, Emma mouths. Even Tink is smiling, which has to be a first - she's never quite gotten over her fear of Mr. Gold.

"How was your day, Tinkerbell?" Emma asks.

"Oh, it was pretty good, actually. Henry asked me to the freshman formal, and I got an A on my first biology test, so things are shaping up well."

"That's nice that you could get a date your own age to take you to your freshman formal," Zelena cuts in. "Unlike some people who liked to whore themselves out to their twenty-three year old riding instructors."

Regina's face remains perfectly composed, but Emma sees her hands start to tremble.

"Um...I have no idea what that has to do with anything," Tink mutters.

"I'm just saying it's nice that you understand the meaning of healthy relationships. It'll save you from a lot of reckless decisions and prevent people from being killed."

"How about you, Zelena? Did you have a nice day?" Emma asks loudly. _Where the hell is Mr. Gold? _she thinks.

"I certainly did, but apparently not as nice as yours," Zelena says with a sly smile. "I saw you two canoodling on the soccer field. You might want to watch who you out yourself to," she advises, turning to Regina. "We wouldn't want another of your girlfriends to end up dead, would we?"

The lamp above Zelena's head shatters, and broken glass rains down on her face. However, she's completely unfazed. "Look who decided to finally do some magic," she says with an almost maniacal smile. "Too bad there's no more where that came from." Suddenly, Regina's desk starts to slide backwards, pinning the brunette against the wall.

"You think you can just have whatever you want because you're the mayor's daughter," Zelena hisses. "You've never had to work for anything; everyone just hands it to you. You're talentless and pathetic, and you don't deserve to be in this room wasting Mr. Gold's time."

Regina's face is turning slightly purple - the desk is probably crushing her internal organs - but she manages to contort her expression into a smile after a quick glance at Emma. "Guess what, Zelena?" she chokes out, gasping for air. "I don't give a shit."

With that, the desk practically flies in the opposite direction, freeing Regina, and Zelena barely manages to jump out of the way before it crashes into the bookshelf and knocks the whole thing over. Though Regina is bent practically in two and struggling to catch her breath, she looks triumphant.

"This isn't over," Zelena declares. "I will destroy you."

"Bring it."

Gold walks into the room just then, looks around disapprovingly before righting all the furniture with a flick of his wrist. He then begins a long lecture about the importance of learning control, which Emma mostly tunes out.

When the teacher isn't looking directly at them, she surreptitiously meets her friend's determined eyes. "Nothing is going to happen to you," Regina growls under her breath. "I won't let it."


	7. Revelations

**Author's Note:** Hello everyone! Just wanted to say thanks again for all your wonderful reviews. It is now this fic's one-week birthday, and I'm having so much fun writing it and seeing the responses.

Also, in case anyone was curious, the scene in this chapter was the one that originally inspired me to start writing this story after seeing the showdown _It's Not Easy Being Green_. Please note that I still don't own any of these characters, and a few of the lines are borrowed from the show, as well.

xx

**Chapter 7: Revelations**

Regina shows up to class the next day in a business suit. Emma looks her up and down for a moment, taking in the way her slacks perfectly hug the curve of her hips and her blazer accentuates her assertively squared shoulders.

"Got a board meeting after class?" the blonde teases.

Regina's face falls, and her confident posture deflates. "I look stupid, don't I?"

"No way, you look powerful."

"That's what I was going for," Regina says with a wry smile. "I'm trying to channel my mother - she's always been especially good at witch fights. You're staring."

"I'm staring because you're sexy." The brunette pretends to ignore this remark, but Emma catches sight of the half-smile she trying to suppress.

"So, you got all dressed up for Zelena?"

After quickly checking to see that Mary Margaret isn't listening (She's at the window communing with the birds, which Emma _still_ can't get over but Regina barely even seems to notice.), Regina turns big, frightened eyes toward Emma. "What was I thinking?" she hisses. "She's much more powerful than me."

"You can still win, or at least make an impression," Emma argues. "What about what you did yesterday?"

"That was an anomaly. I've always...struggled...with my magic. You're supposed to find power within yourself, and I just...can't."

"Well, if you have that kind of attitude, of course you'll struggle."

"It's hard not to have that attitude when Zelena is in the same room and never struggles with anything except trying to seduce Gold!"

"Fair enough. And she's pretty good at finding ways to get under your skin," Emma observes in a tone she hopes comes off as non-judgmental as possible.

Regina's eyes flash with something that looks like a combination of anger and deep-seated pain. "Yes, well, that just goes to show what good confiding in people will do. You'd think I'd have learned my lesson the first time," she mutters cryptically, eyes practically boring holes in her desk. "But I _won't_ let anything happen to you."

For a split second, Regina's gaze flickers toward Mary Margaret, who has returned to the front of the classroom and is probably eavesdropping, before she twists around to get her books out of her backpack, and Emma watches as the teacher's expression turns from one of pleasant indifference to complete horror and heartbreak.

Suddenly, so many of the little comments Emma has heard over the past week begin to make sense, and she feels slightly sick to her stomach.

_"...She blames me for ruining her life...It was unintentional, but it's the biggest regret of my teaching career..."_

_"...I'm not going to entrust any more of my secrets to Miss Blanchard."_

_"You might want to watch who you out yourself to...We wouldn't want another of your girlfriends to end up dead, would we?"_

"Shit," Emma mutters, watching Mary Margaret abruptly turn and leave the room, violently wiping her cheeks with the sleeve of her cardigan. "You confided in her, didn't you? And it came back to bite you."

"Who? Miss Blanchard or Zelena?" Regina asks stiffly.

"Apparently both."

Regina stares Emma directly in the eyes, and the blonde wonders how a person's gaze can be so intense and so haunted at the same time.

"Miss Blanchard," she says quietly, swallowing hard, "thought she was doing her job." The words come out slowly, like pulling teeth, and a brief glance downwards confirms that Regina's hands are shaking almost uncontrollably. "She thought - she thought she was protecting me from a reckless decision. Zelena-" her voice catches here, and she takes a second to try and regain her composure "-does not have such good intentions."

A stupid decision...Emma thinks she recalls Zelena saying something about freshman Regina and her twenty-three year old riding instructor. She supposes that would be the type of reckless decision a concerned teacher might involve herself in, but if she's reading the clues right and said riding instructor ended up dead somehow, she can see why Regina might resent or even hate Mary Margaret.

Although, right now she doesn't seem resentful so much as on the verge of a breakdown, and Emma's stomach sinks because she has no idea how to handle this, and she certainly doesn't want it to turn into a repeat of last Wednesday's magic class.

Impulsively, she reaches over to grab Regina's trembling hands and squeezes them tightly. "Well, Zelena, at least, is going to get what she deserves. Miss Blanchard...we can talk about her later, because I kind of need a place to sleep."

Regina makes a sound that's somewhere in between a chuckle and a sob. "Thank you," she whispers. Then she forces herself to exhale and delicately extracts her hands from Emma's. By the time Mary Margaret reenters the classroom, Regina has her glasses on and her books open just like any other morning. Emma is holding _The Great Gatsby_ in front of her face, but she's not reading. Instead, her eyes flicker back and forth between her friend and her foster mom. Mary Margaret keeps shooting worried glances at Regina, who is desperately trying to ignore her, tension building in her shoulders by the second.

Suddenly, Regina shoots her hand up and says, "Miss Blanchard?" The teacher inhales sharply. "I'm a little confused about question thirteen of tomorrow night's assignment. Would you mind helping me?"

"Of course not." A very relieved Miss Blanchard comes over and pulls a chair next to Regina's desk. "But I should probably remind you that homework is assigned in chronological order, so you might be having trouble because we haven't studied that topic yet."

Emma watches their incredibly stilted student-teacher carefully before turning back to her book, satisfied that the ticking time bomb that is Regina and Mary Margaret's relationship isn't going to be detonated quite yet.

xx

She and Regina are walking to the locker room to get changed for P.E. when Emma is suddenly shocked to see that her friend is no longer next to her but instead flying through the air down the hallway, limbs flailing, until she crashes into a row of lockers and flops unceremoniously on the floor. The other students, who had been unruly as ever in their rush to class not five seconds before, suddenly stand completely still and silent.

"Well, that was easy," an unpleasant voice drawls. "After yesterday, I had hoped you would have at least _pretended_ to be a worthy opponent."

The crowd of shocked students parts to reveal Zelena, standing with her hands on her hips and an arrogant smirk on her face. While Regina's suit makes her look powerful, Zelena looks positively terrifying in an all-black outfit that, in any other town, Emma would have assumed was a very intricate steampunk cosplay. However, the giant green brooch on the collar of her jacket that looks like it's magically glowing would only be seen in Storybrooke. Conjuring a fireball in her hand, she begins to stride purposefully toward Regina, but Emma immediately steps in her way.

"Zelena," she growls, hoping no one can see through her show of false bravado, "if you want to touch her, you're going to have to get through me first."

"Emma, no!" Regina cries, desperately trying to pull herself to her feet. "I can handle this!"

"Listen to your girlfriend, sweetheart," Zelena sneers. "This fight is between the two of us, and as much as I'd like to see the look on her face when I kill you, I just don't have time at the moment." With that, she flicks the wrist that isn't occupied with holding flames, and Emma finds herself sprawled on the ground a few feet away from Regina. "Now get up."

After casting an imploring glance at Emma and whispering for the blonde to stay put, Regina gets shakily to her feet and faces her rival.

"Nice to see you today, Zelena," she says with a very forced smile. "Did you do something different with your hair?" In an instant, Zelena is being dangled from the ceiling by her long red hair. It looks slightly painful, but the confident witch only smirks and waves a finger to free herself.

"You're going to have to do better than that, Regina," she taunts. "I, for one, thought you would have realized that by now. Or do you really still have no idea who I am?"

"I know you're an asshole," counters Regina. "What I don't know is what I ever did to you to deserve it." There's the smallest hint of vulnerability in her voice as she says the words, but her face remains hardened in a glare.

"Isn't it obvious? You were born."

Regina's eyes flash with a mix of anger and confusion before her fist flies up and makes contact with Zelena's face. There's a satisfying crack, and Emma can see blood on the older girl's lip. "What the hell is that supposed to mean," Regina snarls.

"Oh, I don't know, dear," Zelena says sweetly. She's completely unperturbed as she wipes away the blood. "Why don't you ask your mother? Or, should I say..._our_ mother?"

In an instant, Regina's mask drops and her brow furrows in confusion. "I'm an only child," she snaps.

"Cora lied. I'm not sure why that surprises you. You know her."

"So do you," Regina counters, "which is why I'm surprised you would ever want to claim any relation to her."

"Well, then, you know what I'm saying must be true."

"Or, you're insane."

Zelena's face contorts into an expression of pure loathing. Regina is suddenly back in the air, arms bound tightly to her sides, and Zelena's arm is outstretched like she's choking the air. It quickly becomes clear, however, that what she's actually squeezing is Regina's throat: the brunette is sputtering and gasping for air. _This has gone on long enough, _Emma thinks. She starts moving toward Zelena, though she has absolutely no idea what to do, but Regina stops her with a quick shake of her head.

"So, what? You think I'm your sister, so you're going to kill me?" she manages to choke out. "Doesn't seem like a great way to treat your family members."

"No, Regina, you don't get to talk to me about how to treat your family members. In fact, you don't get to talk at all - now you get to listen. As much as I'd like to just kill you right now, it will be so much more satisfying once you actually understand _why._" The crowd of students has thinned somewhat since the more terrified ones have fled, but the spectators who remain look way too interested for Emma's liking.

"I don't actually _care _why," Regina wheezes.

"Shut up!" Zelena screeches. "You're going to listen whether you like it or not. Our mother abandoned me. She tossed me away at birth without a second thought because she saw that there was no way she could pretend I was her husband's child. Then, less than a year later, she had you. And you, she kept. You, she gave absolutely everything. And what do you do with it, you ungrateful cow? You waste your time rolling around in haystacks and fail to use any of your magical potential because you're too _sad_ about your stupid dead girlfriend. At least I made something of myself, even though I had nothing and you had everything, and you're not even grateful!"

Zelena's voice has grown higher and more frantic over the course of her rant, power and fury radiating off of her in waves. Regina's entire face is blue as she struggles against the magic, but Zelena's anger is apparently too strong.

"Wow, Zelena, I had no idea you were so immature. Petty jealousy as a motive for revenge? Really?" Emma taunts, hoping that if the older girls' attention is diverted, it might give Regina a chance to escape.

The plan works: Zelena turns blazing eyes towards Emma, weakening her magic just enough that Regina is able to throw up a counter-spell and get out of the hold. Her feet back on the ground, the brunette gasps for air and tries to prepare for the next round.

"I thought I told you to stay out of this," Zelena hisses. "But you apparently don't have a brain, and soon, you won't have a heart either. Regina knows _exactly _what I'm about to do. Don't you, sis?"

"No!" Regina cries out, throwing herself between Emma and Zelena as the latter reaches her hand out toward Emma's chest. Zelena falls backward, pushed by Regina's magic, and her mouth curls into a smirk.

"How sweet. It seems the only time you can summon any magic is to protect _her_. Too bad she can't do the same for you." Zelena narrows her eyes, and Regina is abruptly hoisted back into the air. Emma watches in despair and helplessness as her friend flies through the window. The students in the hallway let out a collective gasp.

"Zelena! What did you do!" Emma hollers.

"Go take care of your precious little friend's dead body, dear. I don't have time to dance with amateurs." Zelena cackles wickedly before disappearing in a puff of green smoke.

xx

Emma sprints out the door and rushes over to where Regina is lying in a crumpled heap in the bushes, her body covered in broken glass. The brunette has a large gash on her forehead, and her leg is bent at an odd angle, but, most worryingly, she is unconscious.

"Come on, Regina," Emma whispers desperately. "Wake up." She gently shakes her friend's shoulder, but Regina's eyes remain closed. "Shit."

"What happened?" Emma hears Mary Margaret's frantic voice behind her, and she's tremendously relieved when she turns to see her foster mother running toward her, followed closely by a man she recognizes as Ruby's gym teacher, Mr. Nolan. Locksley isn't far behind them, and all three teachers are wearing quivers of arrows like they were having some kind of faculty archery practice together. Emma briefly thinks that it's a little strange, but she's too concerned about her friend and too grateful not to have to deal with this alone to continue that particular train of thought. Mary Margaret immediately bends over Regina and starts feeling for a pulse. With a slight nod, she confirms that her unconscious student is still alive and breathing.

Locksley looks up at the broken second-story window and his eyes fill with horror. "Did she fall through _that_?"

"She had a little help...from Zelena," Emma mutters darkly. Perhaps if Regina were conscious, she'd be pissed that the secret is now out in the open, but all Emma can think about is that if she'd said something sooner, they wouldn't be in this situation to begin with.

"Zel..." Mary Margaret's voice trails off, and her eyes widen like a lot of things are now beginning to make sense to her. "How long has this been - you know what, never mind. We'll talk later."

"We need to get her to the nurse's office," Nolan interjects, "and probably call an ambulance. And talk to Mr. Gold. Where is Zelena now?"

"I don't know," Emma admits, staring sickly and guiltily at her friend's broken body. "She disappeared, and I was more focused on...this."

"Disappeared?" Locksley asks. "You mean like-"

"That will be an excellent topic to discuss after we ensure that Regina is safe and her injuries are cared for," Mary Margaret says in a firm tone, gently scooping the injured girl into her arms.

"Here, let me help," Nolan offers.

"I've got this. Just open the doors." Mary Margaret starts walking quickly toward the school entrance, cradling Regina like a small child, and Emma is impressed because while - contrary to what Zelena says on a daily basis - Regina is quite petite, the math teacher is not much bigger. Apparently, in addition to her sharp-shooting and avian communication skills, she also possesses super-strength.

Nolan jogs ahead to get the doors, and Emma follows closely behind with Locksley, who has whipped out his cell phone and is attempting to call ahead to the school nurse.

Despite her concern for Regina's safety and her fear of whatever Zelena's next move might be, Emma can't help but feel that a huge weight has been lifted off her chest now that Mary Margaret is taking charge of the situation. There's part of her that feels a little weak for running to the adults with her problems, but Regina has dealt with this on her own for far too long.


	8. Healing

**Chapter 8: Healing**

Regina's eyes slowly start to open as Mary Margaret lays her down on a cot in the nurse's office. "Miss Blanchard?" she croaks, staring dazedly around the room. "Why am I..." Suddenly, her face pales, and she frantically tries to push herself up before hissing in pain and collapsing back onto the thin mattress. "Where's Emma? Is she okay?"

"Right here," Emma says, stepping out from behind her foster mother so she can be seen clearly. "Not a scratch on me, thanks to you." Regina's eyes quickly dart up and down the Emma's body. Apparently satisfied that the blonde is unharmed, she slowly lowers her head, wincing as it touches even a reasonably soft surface. "How are you feeling," Emma asks sympathetically.

"Like I fell out a window."

"Well, at least your snark is still intact."

"Regina," Mary Margaret says quietly, "Nurse Astrid needs to take a look at your injuries. Is that okay?" Regina gives a slight nod and squeezes her eyes shut, tentatively reaching a hand towards the teacher. Mary Margaret stares at it for a minute in confusion before taking it in her own and giving it a soft squeeze. "You're so brave," she whispers. "Emma is just fine, and you will be, too."

Nurse Astrid is trying her best to be gentle, but there's absolutely no way for this examination not to hurt. Emma finds herself cringing in pain just hearing the description of Regina's injuries. "Her leg is fractured in at least two places, definitely a couple of broken ribs, and maybe a skull fracture. We should get her to the hospital right away to check for a concussion and internal bleeding - someone needs to contact her mother."

Regina remains stoic while the nurse touches her body in all the broken places and shines painful lights in her eyes, but the second her mother is mentioned, she completely loses it. Instantly, she's half-sobbing, half-choking, and clutching Mary Margaret's hand like her life depends on it. "Not Mother, please," she cries desperately. "Don't call her! Miss Blanchard, don't let them call my mother! Please?"

Mary Margaret takes a deep breath before nodding. "Get Gold," she orders Mr. Nolan, who Emma now realizes has been standing silently in the doorway the entire time. "He can heal her with magic. There's no need to worry the mayor unnecessarily," she breezily tells the confused nurse.

Nolan jogs out the door, and Nurse Astrid nods reluctantly before busying herself getting ice packs and pillows for temporary pain relief. Mary Margaret nods at Emma to hold Regina's other hand and turns back to the injured student who is still whimpering, "Not Mother, not Mother."

"Not Mother," Mary Margaret agrees, gently tucking a stray lock of hair behind Regina's ear and then cupping her palm against a tear-stained cheek. "No one else is going to hurt you today." Shuddering, Emma squeezes Regina's hand tighter, and Mary Margaret gives her a reproachful look. "I know it's hard, but you have to stay calm for her," she whispers. The teacher strokes Regina's cheek and starts softly singing a tune Emma eventually recognizes as "With a Smile and a Song' from _Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs._

Emma stares in amazement at the scene unfolding before her eyes. If anyone had asked her, even a few minutes ago, how Regina would have reacted to Miss Blanchard touching her face and singing a song from a movie that doesn't seem at all her taste, she might have guessed that such an interaction would end in violence. Instead, Regina seems to lean into the contact, and her breathing gradually grows more relaxed. At first, she thinks that perhaps the other girl's pain is so great that her need for comfort is superseding her pride, but as she watches more closely, she realizes that's only half of it. There's something incredibly familiar between the two of them, something routine, like this is not the first time Mary Margaret has dealt with a hurt or terrified Regina and probably not even the first time she's sung that particular song to her.

The song is finished and Regina's tears have mostly quieted by the time Nolan returns, panting, and tells them he can't find Gold anywhere and not even Miss French knows where he is. Mary Margaret sighs deeply, wheels visibly spinning in her head as she tries to think of a backup plan. Nolan suggests, "We could call Mother Sup-"

"Emma can do it," Regina interrupts. The four other occupants of the room stare at her like she's suddenly sprouted a second head.

"Emma can what now?"

"Heal me. You did it before."

"That was just a cut, and I - it was an accident," Emma sputters. "I didn't know what I was-"

"Emma, take a breath," Mary Margaret cuts in, and the blonde immediately remembers that she's supposed to be staying strong for Regina.

"I'm sorry," she says quietly. "But I don't know what I'm doing, and I really don't want to hurt you."

"Just try," Regina pleads. Her face is pale, and the pain in her ribs is inhibiting her ability to take even the shallowest of breaths. She needs someone to do something, and fast.

Emma looks back and forth between Mary Margaret and Nurse Astrid, who both look dubious but try to nod encouragingly at her. Meanwhile, Regina is regarding her with huge, trusting eyes that are simultaneously heart-melting and terrifying. "Maybe still call Mother Superior, just in case," the nurse suggests.

She decides to start with the broken leg, since it's probably the least likely to have life-threatening effects if she messes something up. She's healed only once, without knowing that it was even happening, and it was a cut. A large, dangerous cut, but still not a skull fracture or a concussion or internal bleeding. She lets her hands hover half a centimeter over Regina's leg and closes her eyes. _Magic is controlled by emotion_, she remembers. For the moment, she forces herself to forget that it was Zelena who said it. _You simply channel that emotion into willing what you want to be done. _Willing what she wants to be done is easy - healing Regina's leg - but she doesn't even know what emotions she's supposed to channel. She's pissed, obviously, at Zelena, and at herself for doing so little to help, even though it's what Regina told her to do.

But even more than angry, she's scared. She's scared absolutely shitless that she won't be able to do what's needed and something will happen to Regina, who, even in such a short time, has become the person she cares most about in the entire world. Regina herself, surprisingly, doesn't seem afraid at all, at least about that. She believes in Emma completely, even with absolutely no evidence, and that makes her either the bravest or craziest person the blonde has ever known. She's never been believed in before, not like this, but then again, Regina is also the first person who has unquestioningly accepted her, who has protected her, who has not only explicitly stated that she wants her to stick around but shown it with all her actions and -

Emma's thoughts are interrupted by a small gasp from Mary Margaret, and she opens her eyes to see blue light radiating from her fingertips and Regina's leg in a much more natural configuration.

"I did it," she whispers in shock.

Regina wiggles her foot and nods. "Yes, you did. Now please do my ribs so I can actually breathe again."

Emma tackles the busted ribcage with much more confidence, spirits buoyed by the return of color to Regina's cheeks when she can finally inhale without pain. She's just about finished repairing Regina's skull (and hopefully any brain bruising) when Nolan walks back in, both Gold and Mother Superior at his heels.

"I'm okay," Regina informs them. "Emma healed me."

Gold briefly hovers a hand over Regina's forehead, and a wave of blue light passes over her body like some kind of magical x-ray. "So she did," he muses. "Well done, Miss Swan." He regards her with a mixture of respect and amusement.

"So, Regina is-"

"Her wounds are healed, yes, and quite thoroughly, too," Gold informs Mary Margaret and Nurse Astrid. "She'll feel very weak for a while and probably need to rest for the remainder of the day, but there should be no lasting ill-effects."

"Well, that's great then," Miss Blanchard says brightly, placing a hand on Emma's shoulder.

"Miss Swan may also be a bit exhausted from summoning so much power at one time. I will excuse both students from their afternoon classes." Mary Margaret opens her mouth to say something, which Gold seems to anticipate. "Due to the...circumstances, I will waive the requirement of a legal guardian signing Regina out of school. You may take both girls home."

"And Zelena?" Nolan asks from the doorway.

"Rest assured, if she shows up in my classroom, I will deal with her."

"She won't," Emma mutters.

"Let Gold worry about it, honey." As the other teachers file out, Mary Margaret looks back and forth between Emma and Regina. "I gather there's a lot that needs to be talked about, but for now, let's get the two of you home."

Regina looks worried. "Home...?"

"My home, at least for the next few hours. Now, do you think you'll be able to walk to the car, or..." Regina slowly sits up and places her feet on the floor, but the second she tries to put any weight on them, she starts to collapse. Luckily, Emma and Mary Margaret both catch her before she hits the floor. "It's okay, sweetheart, I've got you," the teacher says soothingly, once again taking Regina in her arms and carrying her out the door. Regina just nods and leans her head against Mary Margaret's shoulder, and Emma follows wordlessly behind, still too much in shock to be feeling the exhaustion yet.

xx

Regina is pretty much asleep by the time they arrive at the apartment and Mary Margaret helps her onto the couch. Emma tries to lend the other girl some pajamas so she won't have to nap in her suit, but Regina only stares at them in confusion before closing her eyes.

"You sure you don't want to lie down, too?" Mary Margaret asks Emma for the third time.

"I think I'm okay," Emma replies. She's not feeling the exhaustion Gold predicted - instead, she has an excess of energy, and she's also worried that if she allows her eyes to close, she'll be forced to once again see Regina flying through the window while she just stands there powerlessly.

Her foster mom just shrugs and picks up her phone to view the text message she's just received. "Do you think you two will be okay on your own for an hour or so?" she asks. "Mr. Gold just called an emergency faculty meeting."

"Sure, I mean, I feel fine, and she's just sleeping."

"Call right away if you need anything," Mary Margaret urges, casting one more worried glance at both girls before she leaves.

Left to her own devices, Emma bounces restlessly around the apartment. She drifts between the computer and TV, though neither captures her attention particularly well, and manages to eat an entire bag of potato chips. She also periodically checks to ensure her sleeping friend is still breathing.

Eventually, Regina starts to stir. "Emma?" she murmurs tiredly.

"Hey, I'm here. Everyone's safe - you can go back to sleep now."

"Can you..." Regina's voice trails off, and her face blushes crimson.

"Can I what? It's okay, you can ask me anything."

"Can you help me put on those pajamas? I don't think I can...do it myself."

"Yeah, of course. Like I said, anything." Emma immediately helps the brunette out of her now-wrinkled suit and into some much more comfortable flannel PJs. She tries very hard to ignore the fact that she is not only seeing Regina in her underwear but also touching her when she's practically naked. Now is _not_ the time or place to be turned on.

"Is it normal to feel like this after you get healed?" Emma asks curiously. It's a little scary to see the always strong and prideful Regina Mills barely able to sit up on her own.

"Healing takes a lot of energy from both parties," Regina explains sleepily. "That's why it's such difficult magic. I'm surprised you're still standing."

When Regina is settled back on the couch, her face flushes again and she asks tentatively, "Emma, when you said 'anything,' did you really mean it?"

"Yeah, why? What do you need?"

"It's just...can you...I don't want to be alone," Regina finally manages to say.

Emma nods. "You want to be big spoon or little spoon?" she asks. Regina looks confused for a moment before rolling onto her side and patting the space in front of her, and Emma immediately kicks off her shoes and nestles herself into the curve of the other girl's body. She's got about five inches on Regina, so the fit is a little off, but it still feels right for them.

"I need to be able to see you," Regina explains quietly.

Emma closes her eyes as she feels her friend gently wrap her arms around her waist and rest her head against the back of her shoulder. Then she finally allows the fatigue to overtake her body and drifts off to sleep.

xx

Mary Margaret returns a little later, toting both girls' backpacks and a large bag of groceries. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," she whispers to Emma.

"No problem. You need any help with those groceries?" Emma tries to get up, but she hears Regina groan sleepily behind her, and the arms around her middle tighten.

Mary Margaret chuckles. "Looks like you're on teddy-bear duty. I've got it."

"What did Gold say?" Emma asks, voice quiet but urgent.

"Well, for starters, Zelena's disappeared. No one can find her, so that puts a bit of a damper on our efforts to find an...appropriate solution...for the problem."

"She'll be back," Emma says darkly. "She's the type that can't resist hanging around and gloating."

"Be that as it may, I think tonight is the wrong time to focus on that aspect of the situation," Mary Margaret says, eyes now focused on Regina's sleeping form. "Did she say anything when she woke up?"

"Nothing monumental. I think she's too tired to talk."

Mary Margaret nods. "Okay, then you two keep resting. I'll be there if you need me." The teacher sets the two backpacks on the floor next to the couch and retreats to the kitchen.

About twenty minutes of dozing later, Emma is awakened by a loud ringing sound from Regina's backpack. Sleepily, she reaches for the bag and tries to locate the phone before it can wake the brunette behind. "That's my mother's ringtone," Regina whispers, instantly alert.

"Found it," Emma says triumphantly, twisting around to hand over the phone, but Regina makes no move to take it. Instead, she shakes her head, eyes filling with tears and the same panicked expression she wore back at school when the nurse suggested calling her mother.

"I've got this," Mary Margaret says briskly, suddenly appearing at the door. She grabs the phone from Emma's hand and schools her face into its typical pleasant expression. "Hello, Mayor Mills...Yes, this is Miss Blanchard. Regina is at my apartment...of course, I've asked her and Emma to give a presentation in my class tomorrow...Yes, Madam Mayor, I'm aware that it's very short notice for a school assignment, but naturally, Regina volunteered...Both girls are working very hard - Regina has been such a good influence on Emma's schoolwork, you have no idea...Yes, it will probably take several more hours, so I believe it would make sense for Regina to stay for dinner." She raises an eyebrow at whatever the mayor's response is. "Oh, of course. I'll let her know...No, Madam Mayor, it won't be a problem at all. Regina is never a problem...Yes, of course I'll make sure she completes all of her other assignments...Have a nice evening, Madam Mayor."

Mary Margaret hangs up the phone and turns back toward Emma and Regina, who have been listening with bated breath. "Regina, your mother evidently has some business to take care of in Portland tonight. She's asked if you could spend the night here. I told her yes, if that's okay with you." Regina's entire body sags with relief against Emma's, which Mary Margaret takes as a yes.

"I'm going to grade some quizzes in the other room, and then I'll probably make lasagna for dinner," she informs them. "Call if you need me."

She's practically out the door when Regina suddenly calls out, "Miss Blanchard? Thank you."

xx

After another hour of napping, Emma feels normal again, and Regina is at least strong enough to get up on her own.

"Do you think it's true?" the brunette suddenly asks.

"Do I think what's true?"

"That Zelena is my sister."

"Oh..." Emma had practically forgotten that piece of information in all the chaos following it. "Um, I really wouldn't know. She doesn't exactly look like you, but she might look a little like your mother."

"That's what I was thinking," Regina admits. "Not to mention some of their...behavioral tendencies. And that would be a valid explanation for why she hates me."

"She hates you because she's crazy."

"But think about it," Regina says seriously. "I mean, you said your parents abandoned you. How would you feel if you still lived in the same town with them and found out they had another baby a year later that they kept?"

"Depending on the situation, I'd probably be pissed," Emma admits, "but...you can't think that excuses how she treats you."

"Doesn't it? You can't tell me you wouldn't resent your sibling if that was the case."

"Sure, I most likely would, but there's a difference between resenting someone and actively trying to end their life! A really big difference. Zelena's a twisted psycho, pure and simple."

"Another trait she shares with my mother," Regina mutters darkly.

"You know, with everything you've said to me about your mother, I'm starting to think Zelena was lucky to get out of that shit, if it's really true."

Regina shrugs. "I know I'm the one who brought it up," she apologizes, "but I'd rather not discuss this right now."

"No problem, we can change the subject. At least you don't have to see her tonight."

Regina manages a half-smile, and the two girls walk out into the kitchen where Mary Margaret is starting to gather ingredients for lasagna, which Emma has deduced must be Regina's favorite food besides apples, given that the teacher always decides to make it when she's around.

"Emma, you left your Facebook page open," her foster mother informs her.

"Sorry, M&amp;M."

"Oh, it's not a problem, but Graham messaged you. He says he's going down to Granny's to shoot darts with the gang, if you want to join."

"Sounds fun," Emma shrugs. "You want to go?" she asks her friend. "Knowing those guys, the invitation's probably open."

"I, um..." Regina immediately starts to look overwhelmed at the prospect of social interaction with people who saw her fly through a window and possibly also physical movement.

"It's okay, we'll just stay here," Emma says quickly.

"No, you should go. I've been hogging you all day - I'm sure your other friends want to see you, too."

"Regina..."

"I'll be fine, really. Besides," she adds, like an idea has just popped into her head, "I'm sure Miss Blanchard needs someone to help with dinner." Mary Margaret looks shocked, but she nods in affirmation.

Perplexed, Emma looks back and forth between her friend and foster mother and tries to figure out if she trusts them alone together, but the look on Regina's face says clearly that this is something she desperately needs.

"Okay," Emma finally says. "I'll be back in half an hour, and this apartment better be in the same state that I left it."


	9. Sleepover (Part 1)

**Author's Note:** Thanks once again for the reviews! This chapter is the first part of Emma and Regina's first sleepover, a.k.a. the one where Emma finally freaks out. The night will be continued in Chapter 10. To the people wondering about Cora's mysterious trip to Portland...don't worry, it will be addressed, probably in one or two chapters.

Happy reading!

xx

**Chapter 9: Sleepover (Part 1)**

Emma walks out the door of the apartment, terribly confused. For some reason, Regina suddenly doesn't want her around anymore, and even though, rationally, she knows that there are probably any number of perfectly valid, inoffensive explanations for that, she can't help but wonder if she said or did something wrong. Maybe it's because she told the secret about Zelena. Or maybe it's what she didn't do: she's the one who's supposed to be Regina's friend, yet she did absolutely nothing to protect her from Zelena, and Mary Margaret is the one who actually stepped up and knew how to comfort her. She supposes she always knew that at some point, Regina would realize her new friend wasn't worthy of her - but she had allowed herself to hope it wouldn't be for a while.

The second she enters the diner, she's ambushed.

"Darts with the gang" turns out to be an entire crowd of Storybrooke High students, most of whom Emma doesn't even know. They're all getting in her personal space shouting questions about Regina and Zelena, and Emma has absolutely no idea what to do. She's about to turn and flee when Graham and Mulan pull her into the back room.

"I thought we were supposed to play darts," she hisses. "Who are all these people?"

"Sorry," says Graham. "Word got out you were coming, and, well...it's a small town. I think they also figured you'd bring Mills with you, since you've been pretty much attached at the hip lately."

"We're not attached at the hip."

"Debatable," Mulan smirks.

"Anyway, as you may remember, she fell out a second-story window today, so maybe you could show a little concern instead of debating our Siamese twin status."

"Yeah, I was there, but rumor has it that _you_ healed all her injuries."

"Who the hell spreads these rumors?" Emma asks angrily. "But, it's true; she's fine."

Mulan stares wide-eyed at Emma. "That's crazy. You've been studying magic for, like, less than three weeks. You must be really powerful. People train for years to be healers."

Emma shrugs uncomfortably. "I don't even know. I had no idea I could do it until I did it, if that makes any sense."

"It does," Graham reassures her, putting a friendly arm around Emma's shoulders. "And we're both glad to hear Regina is okay. Who knew Zelena was such a psychopath?"

"Or Regina's sister," Mulan adds. "I just got back from soccer practice, and it's all anyone can talk about."

"Well, people need to mind their own business." She shouldn't have come here - she doesn't need to listen to all this ridiculous gossip.

"I mean, the mayor having a secret illegitimate child is kind of big news, especially in a town this small. If it makes you feel any better, though, I think at least nine out of ten are on Team Regina."

"As they should be. But I still don't like rumors, which I guess looks bad for my chances of staying in Storybrooke long-term." Emma grimaces and then suddenly looks around the diner, realizing that someone is missing. "Speaking of rumors, where is the biggest gossip of them all?"

"You mean Rubes? She's off tonight - she's gotta run free in the moon's pale light."

Emma stares at Graham in confusion. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It's a full moon. She's doing werewolf stuff," he says dismissively.

"You didn't know?" Mulan asks, taking in Emma's flabbergasted expression. "She's usually pretty open about it - she doesn't like secrets."

Emma feels like she's about to pass out. This town... "No, she told me, I just...I have to go," Emma stutters before running out the door, practically shoving aside the curious students still barking questions at her.

Out in the fresh air, she struggles to breathe normally. She remembers Ruby mentioning that she was a werewolf once before, but she's shocked all the same. Of course, it's the end of an awful day, when she already thought she couldn't handle any more surprises. She wonders, not for the first time, if her time in Storybrooke has all been part of an extremely vivid dream, but she doesn't seem to be waking up. Maybe she's in a coma?

Her feet are itching to run, and though the incredibly small part of her that's still sane tells her it's a bad idea, she begins jogging aimlessly down the street. It feels good to turn off her brain for a little while, and before she knows it, she's standing at the town line.

_It would be so easy to keep running,_ she thinks longingly. So easy to leave this absurd town behind her and never look back. To never have to think about werewolves or witch fights or magic ever again.

When she was younger, she loved reading about magic. She used to imagine she was Harry Potter and some day someone would show up at whatever crappy foster home she was living in at the time and tell her she'd been accepted to Hogwarts, and she could go live in a world with talking portraits and Chocolate Frogs and get what she wanted with a wave of her wand. Magic seemed fun, exciting.

Now that she actually has it, she knows it's the opposite. Magic is dangerous - she wonders why she never picked that up from the number of people at Hogwarts who ended up dead. She's only been at this for a little over two weeks, and she's already seen Regina almost die twice.

_Regina._ If she leaves now, she'll never see Regina again. Or Mary Margaret. Or Graham or Ruby or Mulan or Tink or Henry, or any of the other people she's surprised to find she actually cares about. She never forms attachments this quickly - she never forms them at all - and maybe that's a sign that she should get out now before she inevitably screws up one or more of these relationships like she always does. Like she may have already done with Regina.

Or she can do what Regina would do, and go back into town and face her demons.

It's then that she realizes she's standing alone at the town line, with no other human around for at least a mile, and the woods are apparently overrun with werewolves tonight. Plus, nobody knows where Zelena is, and while Emma's instincts tell her that the witch is only interested in killing her if Regina is there to watch, she doesn't feel especially motivated to put those instincts to the test.

After a moment of reflection, she turns around and runs back to the apartment as fast as she can.

xx

She's not sure what she expects to see when she opens the door to the apartment. Maybe a shouting match. Maybe a tearful hug and confessions of forgiveness. Maybe just two people calmly making dinner together. If they still need some time alone, maybe she can go into her room and put on some headphones.

She certainly doesn't expect to see Mary Margaret practically yelling at someone on the phone and Regina - still clad in Emma's pajamas - beside her, practically cheek-to-cheek, straining to hear whatever the person on the other end is saying. There are tears streaming down her face, and her hands are shaking more than Emma's ever seen before.

The second she walks in, she finds herself being mauled. She has to lean against the wall so she force of Regina jumping on her doesn't knock her to the ground.

"Where were you?" Regina demands, quickly checking every inch of Emma's body for injuries. "What happened? Was it Zelena?"

"What?" Now she's confused. "No, nothing happened. Calm down."

"You were gone for almost an hour," Mary Margaret informs her seriously. "Now, I know we talked about trusting each other and my giving you freedom, and under normal circumstances, this wouldn't be a huge issue, but..." her voice trails off and she gestures to Regina, who is crying and clinging to Emma so tightly it might take surgery - or magic - to remove her.

"I called Graham," Regina sobs. "And he said you left the diner after five minutes, and he didn't know where you were, and...and..."

"It's okay, Regina," Mary Margaret soothes, stepping in to rub the other girl's back. "Look - she's fine. Take a deep breath."

"I'm sorry," Emma says quietly. "I wasn't really feeling the diner scene, so I decided to go for a run, and I guess I lost track of time." Her friend and foster mom give her equally unimpressed glares.

"Maybe next time, tell someone where you're going," suggests Mary Margaret. Releasing her hold on Emma's waist, Regina hiccups and stalks over to the couch, where she continues to shoot the blonde angry looks.

"I'm really, really sorry," whispers Emma. "I didn't...I mean, she told me to leave, and I figured you two needed...I didn't realize..."

"Emma, come talk to me in the bathroom," Mary Margaret says firmly, worried eyes still fixed on Regina, whose rage would be a little more believable if her hands hadn't resumed their violent trembling. Once the door is shut, the teacher takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, mouthing the numbers one through ten. "Do you remember when I talked to you about unintentionally hurting Regina?" she finally asks.

"Yes," Emma says guiltily.

"The reason I was worried is that it's a pretty easy thing to do. Regina...she doesn't talk much about the things that cause her pain. It's something I think you two actually have in common."

"Yeah, I guess."

Mary Margaret sighs. "Regina told me a little bit about what happened today."

Emma looks down at the floor. "Did she tell you about the part where I was useless?"

"She told me about the part where Zelena tried to rip out your heart."

"Oh, is _that_ what she was doing?" Emma stares at her foster mom in shock. "With her hand? How is that even possible."

"Dark magic. I gather that Zelena has been studying some things on her own, outside of your class with Mr. Gold. At least, I hope he's not teaching that kind of magic in school."

"What would happen then? If Zelena ripped out my heart? I would die, right?"

"Well, she could use it to control you, and have you do her bidding. If she decided to crush it, then you would die."

Emma shudders. "I guess you guys had a right to be worried about my safety, then. I didn't even know that was in the realm of possibility."

Mary Margaret looks extremely uncomfortable. "That's...I mean, yes, but that's not all. There's something you have to understand...about Regina. Before I start, you should know that I have her permission to tell this story, but I'm not going to go into too much detail because I want her to be able to tell you on her own terms when she's ready. But I do want to tell you a little bit, because I think you need to know where she's coming from."

"I...um, okay." If the look in her foster mother's eyes hadn't already made her apprehensive about hearing this story, that introduction certainly did the trick.

Mary Margaret takes another deep breath. "Okay, so, about two years ago, maybe a little under two years ago, there was someone Regina...really cared about. And- " here, the teacher squeezes her eyes shut "-she saw that person's heart ripped out and crushed, right in front of her."

"What the hell? Who would even do that? And why...wait a minute." Emma is suddenly even more horrified. "It wasn't her mother, was it?"

Mary Margaret's silence tells her all she needs to know. "And she's still the mayor? Why isn't she in jail? Why didn't anyone do anything about it? You can't just let someone get away with murder!"

"She has magic - she's the most powerful magic user in this town, except maybe Mr. Gold. She could make the death look natural, and no one's ever been brave enough to question her."

"This fucking town!" Emma exclaims angrily. "I hate magic! This entire place is fucked up. I mean, I like you, M&amp;M, but I'm telling you right now that if I didn't care about what happened to Regina, I would be out of here, like...yesterday."

Mary Margaret's eyes are sad, but maybe just a little bit proud, as she looks at her foster daughter. "But you do care about what happens to Regina," she confirms.

"Of course I do. She's the best friend I've ever had."

"Then fix this," Mary Margaret says, opening the door and gesturing to the girl who is now in the fetal position on the couch, her entire body shaking.

"How?"

"I don't know, but I know you can."

Mary Margaret returns to the kitchen to make a salad, and Emma steels her nerves before walking over to the couch.

"Hey," she says quietly, sitting next to Regina and awkwardly stroking her foot. "I'm really sorry about tonight. I shouldn't have scared you like that."

Regina's face is buried in her arms, so there's no way to tell from her expression whether she's even heard. Eventually, a very muffled voice says, "Then why did you?"

"I don't know," Emma answers honestly. "I was at the diner and there were all these people gossiping, and suddenly Graham started talking about werewolves, and this entire day - or really, everything about Storybrooke - just caught up with me, and I couldn't handle it and I just wanted to get out." She hadn't meant to say that much, but it all came tumbling out before she could stop it.

She looks apprehensively at Regina, who partially uncovers her face and regards the blonde with red-rimmed eyes. "You were trying to run away from Storybrooke," she says slowly. "Without even saying goodbye."

"Yeah, I...God, Regina, I'm so sorry. And then I decided to come back, and I didn't realize you guys would be so worried, because you pretty much told me to leave, and I thought..." Her voice trails off as Regina buries her face again. "Look, I get it. You have every right to be angry."

"I'm not angry," insists a voice thick with tears.

"Yes, you are, and it's fine. I'm a fucking idiot."

"At least you're right about that."

"But I'm an idiot who wants to do everything in her power to make it up to you."

"Whatever."

"No, really," Emma insists, leaning over to gently lift the brunette's arms so she can look her in the eyes. "We're in this shit together. Tell me what you need from me, and I'll do it."

There's a moment of consideration, during which a thousand different emotions Emma's too scared to try and identify pass through Regina's eyes. Finally, she whispers, "Never leave me again."

"It's done. I promise."

"You can't promise that," Regina argues. "Zelena-"

"Zelena's got nothing on me." Emma helps her friend sit up before pulling Regina onto her lap. "I, Emma Swan, promise that I will never leave you, Regina Mills, ever again, of my own volition. And if someone else tries to do it for me, I promise that I will put up one hell of a fight. How's that?"

Regina can't speak, so she just nods.

"Pinky swear?" Emma asks. The two girls link pinkies momentarily, and then Regina throws her arms around Emma's neck and whispers something unintelligible into her shoulder. Emma pulls her friend's body in closer before saying one more time, "I promise." And she knows she means it.

xx

Dinner is a quiet affair. No one is actually hungry - Regina eats maybe five bites, and Emma cleans her plate but barely tastes anything. Mary Margaret just pushes her food around her plate and looks like she wants to say something, but every time she opens her mouth, something stops her.

"So," Emma says, finally breaking the silence while they're washing the dishes. "Seems like we're having an old-fashioned sleepover tonight. What do you usually like to do at these things?"

"I've never had one before," Regina mumbles.

"As your teacher, I'm obligated to suggest that you complete at least some of your homework," says Mary Margaret. "Regina, you're probably a week ahead in every class, so maybe you can afford a night off. Emma?"

"I don't have much due tomorrow, actually. Just some reading and a couple problems left for your class."

"I can help you out with Pre-Calc, if you want. You seemed a little confused in class this morning."

"Yeah, that would be great." Emma nods in gratitude - she doesn't even remember this morning's class - before turning to Regina. "Maybe while I'm finishing up, you could pick a movie to watch? Or, I think M&amp;M has some board games."

"They're in the hall closet - I think you remember where that is."

"Actually, I...I'll just stay in here with you, if that's okay. I have a biology test on Friday that I should study for." That she doesn't want to let Emma out of her sight remains unspoken, but it's understood.

As the two girls retrieve their backpacks from the living room, Emma asks, "How come you do all your homework so far in advance? Do you not believe in relaxing or hobbies?"

Regina fidgets uncomfortably. "It's just old habit, I guess. You never know when something might come up."

She's being cryptic as hell again, but Emma just shrugs. "Seems responsible."

"I like to think so."

And then the homework is all spread out on the kitchen table, and Mary Margaret is reminding her of things she seems to have forgotten from basic algebra while Regina writes and rewrites her detailed notes and color-coded diagrams, and if Emma allows herself to turn off her brain for a second, she can pretend they're normal people living in a normal town, and it's just been another ordinary day.

And then Regina looks up from her textbook and smiles cautiously, and Emma thinks that maybe, for now, it's okay that none of that is real, as long as her friend is.


	10. Sleepover (Part 2)

**Chapter 10: Sleepover (Part 2)**

Regina usually has almost laser-like focus when she's studying, but not tonight. She seems to be growing increasingly restless and worried the longer they sit at the table. When Mary Margaret steps into the bathroom for a moment, she turns to Emma with wide, concerned eyes. "Emma, I hope...I hope you didn't misunderstand me earlier."

"What do you mean?"

"It's just...you said that I asked you to leave, and you seemed upset by that, and..."

"Oh, it's nothing, don't worry about it."

"It's not nothing! I obviously hurt your feelings in some way, and I'm sorry about that."

"Yeah, but I know you didn't mean to. That's on me: the shrink at juvie said I have abandonment issues. I'm working on it. You don't have to be the self-appointed protector of my feelings."

"No, I..." Regina's eyes glisten with tears as she takes hold of Emma's hands. "I'm sorry, I just thought maybe...you spent all day with me, I thought you might need a break. You're basically my only friend, but that doesn't mean I have to be yours. I should have thought about how you might interpret it."

"I thought you might have been mad at me because I didn't do much to help with Zelena," Emma admits. "Or because I told Mary Margaret about what happened."

"What? No! Of course not - it's thanks to you I'm alive. Zelena's a powerful witch, and you just started learning magic a few weeks ago. What else could you have done?" Regina looks shocked that she would even consider the possibility. "As for telling Miss Blanchard, everyone was going to find out anyway. She didn't exactly attack in the dead of night."

"Are you okay with it? That everyone knows now?"

Regina sighs. "No, but I'll manage."

"Well, then, if you're not mad about that, then I'm not mad about you sending me away. Though, for future reference, you can pretty much assume that I never want a break from you."

"Good to know. I've been told in the past that I can be excessively clingy, and I didn't want that to scare you away. Although," she adds with a wry smile, "my plan might have backfired with that whole sobbing-and-telling-you-never-to-leave-me-again bit that I put on."

Emma laughs and tightens her grip on Regina's hands. "That was a little clingy, but I liked it. By the way, did you and M&amp;M have a good talk while I was out?"

"We talked some. Mostly, we just made lasagna," Regina says uncomfortably. She doesn't have time to go into more detail, because the teacher is already emerging. Both girls turn back to their homework, Regina's ability to concentrate restored to its former glory.

xx

"Okay, so Mary Margaret has _Pride &amp; Prejudice_, which we've already watched, _Titanic_ \- ugh - and then basically every romantic comedy ever made. Oooh, and all the old classic Disney movies. Any of that sound exciting?...Regina...?"

When her friend doesn't answer, Emma stops rummaging through the DVD cabinet and cranes her neck around to see Regina lost in thought, delicately fingering a small framed photo on the bookshelf.

"What's that?" she asks, shuffling over to take a closer look. It's a picture she's glanced at plenty of times before, but rarely given a second thought. It's Mary Margaret, a decade younger and with much longer hair, in an adult-sized Snow White costume. She's sitting on a hospital bed, holding an obviously very sick little girl who nonetheless looks thrilled to be in the princess's presence. She's always thought it was a cute picture that really captured the essence of Mary Margaret, but now that she's looking more closely...

"Holy shit! That's you, isn't it?" It's not a resemblance one would notice right away, because the girl in the picture has puffy cheeks and no hair, and there are all kinds of needles and tubes sticking out of her bruised and entirely too-thin body, but Emma would recognize those eyes anywhere, and the tiny scar Regina has on her upper lip is much more prominent in this picture, like she'd just gotten it recently.

"Maybe," Regina hedges. "What's it to you?"

"I'm taking that as a yes. Come on, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. You two look very happy together." It's true - Emma isn't sure she's ever seen Miss Blanchard smiling so widely in person, and Regina's gaze is so full of adoration she might as well be looking at a god.

"We were. This photo was taken in a very happy moment. I'm...I'm surprised she still has it."

"You two really were close when you were younger, weren't you?" Emma asks, and she almost feels the slightest twinge of jealousy because even though she knows Regina's childhood probably sucked in a lot of different ways, at least she had Mary Margaret, before that relationship went to shit.

Regina nods, blinking furiously. "I loved her," she whispers, and her voice cracks. "So much."

"And then...?"

"Yeah."

"Do you want to tell me about it? Not...whatever happened," Emma quickly clarifies. "I mean the photo."

"What do you want to know about the photo?"

"You said it was a happy moment, right?" Regina nods. "Okay, well, I want to hear about your happy moments. If you want, I can tell you some of mine, too. I mean, this entire day has pretty much been crap, so maybe it would be nice to talk about happy things? Plus, this is what people do at sleepovers. They talk - and watch movies and eat too much candy and popcorn and play Truth or Dare, but mostly talk."

"What's Truth or Dare?"

Emma almost gasps. "Wow, you really don't get out much, do you? So, basically, you pick 'truth' or 'dare,' and the other people in the game either get to ask you a question or dare you to do something crazy."

"Sounds interesting."

"So, let's do it. Choose: truth or dare?"

Regina sighs in resignation. "Fine, truth. I'll tell you about that picture."

"Are you sure?" Emma asks, noting the reluctance on her friend's face. "Because I don't want you to feel like you have to do anything you don't want to. This is a supportive BFF sleepover, not a catty mean girls sleepover."

"It's fine. As I said, it's a happy memory. It's just bittersweet because Miss Blanchard and I obviously no longer have that relationship." Suddenly, confused look passes over her face. "Wait, did you just say we're BFFs?"

"I...um...yeah, I guess I did. I mean, I haven't had many close friends in my life, but you're definitely the best."

"Same for me. And the second F? The forever part?"

Emma snorts. "I really do love your clinginess. But, yes, forever, or at least as long as you'll have me."

"So, forever," Regina says with a smirk. "Anyway, the picture," she continues, motioning for Emma to sit next to her on the sofa. "There are two pieces of background information you need to know for this story to make sense. The first should be fairly obvious from looking at the photograph: I had leukemia when I was younger. From ages five to nine, but I'm better now. Seven years cancer free," she states proudly.

"Wow, I had no idea."

"It's not exactly something I like to talk about. It's gone, and has been for a while, but people still find ways to treat me differently sometimes. I'm as healthy as you are."

"Of course, I just - four years? Couldn't your mom heal you with magic?"

"Mother actually...can't heal," Regina says uncomfortably. "It's not a power everyone has, so you should feel pretty proud of yourself. But, even if she could...magic doesn't necessarily work like that. Cancer is a completely different animal from a cut, or a broken bone. Anyway, modern medicine did the trick - I'm fine now."

"Yes, you are. In fact, you're better than fine. You're amazing. Now, what's the second piece of information?"

"That I wasn't allowed to watch TV or movies when I was younger. Actually, I'm still not really allowed to," she says with a chuckle. "But when I was in the hospital all the time...it's difficult to entertain a cranky five year old who doesn't have the energy to run and play like normal children. So, one day, my dad ended up buying me the Disney Snow White video."

"And it was love at first sight?" Emma teases.

"I was obsessed with it. I watched it every day, sometimes multiple times every day. I'm pretty sure cartoon Snow White was my first crush, embarrassingly enough. I actually looked forward to being hospitalized because that was the only time I was allowed to...see her."

Regina's face is now beet red, and Emma pats her on the shoulder. "I get it - I went through a Belle phase, myself."

"You would. Anyway, I typically had chemo on Sundays, for some reason - I think so that my dad could be there - and Miss Blanchard was always volunteering that day, and she would come to my room last and watch Snow White with me. It was the highlight of my week; when the movie was finished, she would give me stickers and help me color, and then she taught me how to braid her hair as practice for when mine grew back, and she usually brought homemade baked goods or some other exciting snack my mother would never have let me eat. In short, she made what should have been one of the worst experiences of my life truly wonderful."

"That's amazing. What about that picture? Was that taken on a particularly special day?"

"Kind of. Actually, it wasn't even a day - it was the middle of the night. I was six. I got a kidney infection, and I had a really high fever and more pain than I've ever had in my life, including today. My mother actually made a deal with Gold to take the edge off with a little magic, but it was still...severe." She shudders a bit at the memory. "My parents had no idea how to comfort me. The only thing that would make me stop crying even a little was watching Snow White, but unfortunately I'd rewound the cassette too many times, and it chose that night to break."

"Oh, geez."

"Right, so as you can imagine, I was inconsolable. And then...I guess my dad must have called Miss Blanchard, and she came at two in the morning, wearing that costume. The nurses somehow let her in even though it wasn't even visiting hours, and she held me all night and sang me every song from the movie over and over until I finally fell asleep. She even did all the different voices for the prince and the dwarfs and all the animals."

"Wow," Emma whistles. She already knew of course, about Mary Margaret's almost unbelievable kindness, but that story... "So, in your feverish delirium, did you think the actual Snow White was paying you a visit?"

"No, I knew it was Mary Margaret," Regina says with a far-off look in her eyes. "That's what made it so special. Just knowing..."

"Knowing that there was an actual living, breathing person who loved you that much?" Emma guesses. She's never actually had one of those herself, but she can imagine how amazing it must feel.

"Right." Regina clears her throat. "Anyway, story's finished. It's your turn. Truth or dare?"

"Um...truth, I guess. I don't really feel like moving from this couch."

"Hmm..." Regina ponders for a moment, then says, "tell me about juvie."

"Wow, and I let you tell a sweet, heartwarming story."

"Obviously, the supportive BFF rule applies to you, too," Regina says hastily. "If you don't want to talk about it, I can think of a different question, or just give you a hug and move on."

"Nah, I think I owe you one. Your truth was pretty personal. Umm...juvie. It was about a year ago. I was in a pretty awful foster home at the time, that I don't feel like getting into detail about. Suffice to say, I wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. My foster father had a semi-nice watch, and one day I stole it and pawned it off so I could buy a bus ticket out. He found out and called the cops; I ended up doing six months."

Regina grimaces. "I'm sorry."

"It all worked out for the best, though. I mean, I got out of that house. Juvie wasn't the most horrible thing in the world. I got three square meals a day and some therapy, plus there was tutoring, which is how I managed to get up to grade level in most subjects. I even had my first girlfriend in juvie. All in all, it may have been a good experience for me."

"Your first girlfriend? Really?"

"Yeah, this crazy chick named Anna. I mean, it wasn't a serious relationship at all. We didn't have, like...an emotional connection or anything like that. It was purely physical. But I had never even kissed a girl before, and she was surprisingly respectful of that for someone typically not so respectful of rules and boundaries, so it was a pretty positive first relationship, I guess."

"That does sound positive. Are you still in touch with her?" It's difficult to decipher the tone of Regina's voice.

"Nah. Like I said - no emotional connection. We didn't have much in common except a desire to make out with each other, so once I didn't see her anymore...we're Facebook friends and all, but I'm in Maine and I'm pretty sure she moved to the West Coast."

"Have you dated anyone else?"

"Ha, I did have a boyfriend in eighth grade for, like, two weeks - that was ridiculous. As for people I'm actually attracted to, no. Nobody that I would give the girlfriend label to, anyway. After I got out of juvie, I moved to a group home where I had a long string of hookups that were probably not emotionally healthy, but I thought it was what I needed at the time. Then I came to live with Mary Margaret, and I've been quite single these last few weeks."

"I see. I guess I'm glad to know you had at least one relationship that was a positive experience."

"Yeah. Anyway, your question was about my run-in with the law, not my love life! Anything else you need to know?"

"No. I guess it's my turn, then," Regina mumbles, suddenly looking extremely guarded.

"Truth or dare?" Emma asks.

"I...uh..." Regina's hands have started shaking again, and Emma instantly realizes the problem.

"Hey," she says quietly, reaching over to still the trembling fingers by intertwining them with her own. "I won't ask about your love life. Supportive BFFs, remember? Anything that makes you feel uncomfortable, you don't have to answer."

"Right." Regina takes a deep breath and says, "Truth."

Emma thinks. She wants to ask something deep and personal that will help her know her friend better, but nothing that's going to trigger a panic attack. Finally, she decides to go with, "Tell me about your dad. I mean, he came up a lot in your last story, but you never mention him in the present. Is he...oh, shit! He's not dead, is he? Regina, I'm so sorry if-"

"No, he's not dead," Regina says quickly. "He's just...not in Storybrooke. He and my mother divorced when I was in first grade. Apparently, having a daughter with cancer is a really good way to destroy a marriage that was never on solid ground to begin with," she explains with a humorless laugh. "He stayed around for me, when I was sick, but they refused to ever be in the same room together. Then, I guess he couldn't even stand to be in the same town as her, because he moved to Boston as soon as the doctors said I was in remission."

"That sucks."

Regina shrugs. "It was fine when he was living in Boston. I would visit him on weekends, and we'd go biking along the river together and eat Italian food or something. But then his company transferred him to Shanghai two years ago, and I haven't seen him since. He calls and emails, obviously, but I miss him."

"Maybe you could visit him in China - eat some dumplings together."

"Mother says maybe for graduation, if he's still living there. She doesn't like me to spend too much time with him. She thinks he coddles me."

"Why? Because he bought you a movie when you were sick?" There are a number of choice words Emma would currently like to use to describe Regina's mother, adding this information to what Mary Margaret told her earlier, but she doesn't think now is the time or place to use them.

"Something like that. I wonder...I wonder if he knew about Zelena," she suddenly says thoughtfully.

"Isn't it hard to hide a pregnancy from your husband who sees you every day?"

"She hid it from the whole town," Regina argues. "Mother can shape-shift - like what Tink's learning to do with her hair, but she can change her entire face and body to look like another person. It wouldn't be that difficult for her to disguise a pregnancy."

_Shit, that's scary_, Emma thinks, reminding herself never to trust who anyone says they are ever again. "Well, you know them better than I do. What's your read on it? Did he know?"

Regina considers for a moment before shaking her head. "He couldn't have. He wouldn't have let my mother give her up, if he knew. He would have raised her like his own daughter. Maybe then, she wouldn't have turned out to be such a psycho."

"He sounds like a really good person."

"He is," Regina agrees. "I really love him. I just...well, I used to wish he had taken me with him when he left, so I wouldn't be stuck with her."

"But you don't anymore?"

"If I didn't live here, maybe I wouldn't have met you."

Emma's eyes widen. "Really?" She can't imagine anyone willingly choosing to endure all of the unfathomable crap Regina's mother must put her through on a daily basis just to hang onto a three-week-old friendship - and she's pretty sure she doesn't even know half of it.

"Really, you're worth it. Now, I think it's your turn."

Emma considers for a moment. She had initially hoped this game would make the night more lighthearted, but at this point, unless Regina asks her about the happiest moment of her life, things are probably going to stay a little rough. "Dare," she says with a sly smile.

Regina raises her eyebrows. "Really? So I'm supposed to dare you to do something crazy and embarrassing?"

"Yeah, let's see your evil side."

"Umm...I dare you to...hmm. This is hard. I dare you to sing a really embarrassing song in the middle of Main Street?"

"Really? That's what you're going with? I've done time, woman! I think I can deal with something a little more intense than that."

"With your shirt off? It's against local ordinances."

"Fine. What qualifies as an embarrassing song to you?"

"I don't know, anything by Justin Bieber?"

"Sold - but there's just one thing..."

"What's that?"

"You have to do it with me."

"You can't be serious. My mother is the mayor - _I _can't break any rules."

"Oh, but I am. Supportive BFF, remember? Friends don't let friends make fools of themselves alone. Although, I guess you can keep your shirt on if you want. I like how you look in my PJs."

Regina grins. "Alright, let's go," she says excitedly, grabbing Emma's hand and dragging her out of the apartment.

Once they're in the street - thankfully, there's rarely any traffic in Storybrooke, especially at this hour - Emma rips her shirt off and begins crooning, "Baby, baby, baby, ooooohhhh..." loudly and off-key. Regina tries to join, but she's laughing too hard to do much besides watch. Eventually, Emma also dissolves in giggles and has to stop singing for a moment.

"Hi, are you two having simultaneous mental breakdowns?" asks Henry, who has just come out of the library - out awfully late, Emma observes, though she supposes he's actually fourteen and just looks like a baby, so maybe it's okay. "Do I need to call Dr. Hopper?"

"No, we're fine."

"Good," he says fervently, wrapping his arms around Regina's waist. "I heard about what happened with Zelena, and I was worried about you."

"We're having fun," Emma declares. "Join us?

"I don't dance to Bieber," Henry says, wrinkling his nose. "Not much of a bad pop fan."

"Are Disney songs more up your alley? Because I can do those, too. Taaaaale as old as tiiiiime..."

"May I have this dance, my prince?" Regina giggles. She proceeds to spin Henry around in a very clumsy version of the waltz from _Beauty and the Beast_. Then Henry grabs Emma's hand, and they all dance and sing and shriek together until Granny comes out of the diner and yells at them to get inside before she calls the sheriff.

Still giddy, Emma and Regina return to the apartment and collapse, cackling, on the sofa. For once in her life, Regina actually relaxes, leaning back against the cushions and wiping tears of mirth from her eyes. Emma sprawls across the entire couch, resting her head on her friend's torso. She's still shaking with laughter and Regina complains that it tickles but pulls her back when she tries to move.

"Are you girls having a good night?" Mary Margaret asks, exiting the steamy bathroom with a towel wrapped around her head.

"The best," says Regina. "I think I like sleepovers."

"I like them when they're with you," Emma grins. Then she rolls onto her side so Regina can stroke her hair until they both fall asleep.

xx

Emma is awakened by a dull pounding sound from outside the apartment. It almost sounds like someone is knocking on the door, she thinks, groggily lifting her head from Regina's stomach. But that seems highly unlikely because it's - she quickly checks the clock on the DVD player - 5:27 in the morning.

"Regina, do you hear that?" she mumbles sleepily.

"Yes - get up." Regina's voice is a little raspy but fully alert. "Now!"

The two girls quickly scramble to their feet as Mary Margaret stumbles downstairs in her robe, eyes foggy like she's still half in dreamland.

She opens the door cautiously, then instantly snaps to attention when she sees who is on the other side. Next to Emma, Regina's back is ramrod straight and she's desperately trying to fix her morning hair.

"Good morning, Miss Blanchard," says a brisk voice from the hall that unmistakably belongs to Mayor Mills. "I do hope I didn't wake you, but I urgently need to speak to my daughter."

"Uhh...of course. She's right here. Regina-"

"Hello, Mother." Regina steps over to the door, a very fake smile plastered on her face.

"I trust you finished all the work for your presentation last night?"

"Yes, Mother," Regina says smoothly. "And I also studied for my biology test."

"I'm glad to hear it. Now, thank Miss Blanchard for allowing you to stay in her home - we have to go."

"Now? Why?"

Cora levels her daughter with an impatient glare. "I don't have time for your questions," she sighs. "Do as I say."

Regina nods. "Thank you, Miss Blanchard," she says politely. "And Emma. I had a lovely time. I'll see you both in school later?"

"Of course," Mary Margaret replies with a bright smile. "It's always a pleasure to have you over, Regina." She flashes Emma a pointed look like she's supposed to say something, too.

"Uh, yeah. Come back any time."

The Mayor gives both Mary Margaret and Emma a simpering half-smile that's offset by the coldness in her eyes, before turning back to Regina. She looks her daughter up and down with disapproval.

"What are you wearing?"

"Pajamas?"

"That top is too tight for you, dear; it's unflattering. Not to mention, you look like you just got out of bed."

"I did just get out of bed," Regina mutters under her breath.

"What was that?" Cora asks sharply. Regina shrugs and shakes her head. Cora gives a dismissive hand wave, and Regina's body is instantly surrounded by purple smoke. When it clears, she's dressed neatly in a sweater and pleated skirt, and her hair hangs in smooth curls down her back. "That's better. Come, Regina."

"Bye," Regina says quietly, grabbing her backpack and following her mother out.

As soon as the door closes, Emma and Mary Margaret exchange dismayed and frightened glances. Their alarm clocks aren't set to go off for another forty-five minutes, but there's no way either one of them can sleep anymore.


	11. The Eye of the Storm

A/N: Sorry this chapter took a few days longer than normal - I had a bit of trouble with it, and I was a little preoccupied with all the feels from the most recent episode. Anyway, happy reading, and please let me know what you think!

I still don't own the show.

**Chapter 11: The Eye of the Storm**

Emma and Mary Margaret enter Storybrooke High School at 7:15 on the dot, and they're slightly surprised to see Mayor Mills in Mr. Gold's office already, although perhaps they shouldn't be. Regina is sitting on the bench outside the door, looking like she wishes she could disappear, but she smiles when she sees the pair walk in.

"They've been in there for almost thirty minutes," she offers in place of a greeting.

"Do you have any idea what's going on?" asks Mary Margaret, casting a worried glace through the glass door. It's pretty obvious from the expressions on Cora and Gold's faces that their conversation is not a friendly one.

Regina shakes her head. "They strengthened the soundproofing spell on the office and gave me strict orders to wait outside."

"How were things with your mom this morning? Are you okay?"

"Completely fine. She scolded me a bit for showing weakness in front of the entire school, but I think she's got bigger things on her mind."

"Like Zelena?" Emma suggests darkly, shaking her head at the mayor's coldness. She's seen her fair share of parents who don't care about their kids, but Cora Mills has to be among the worst of them.

"She hasn't mentioned her specifically, but I doubt she could have heard about the fight and not about Zelena's little revelation. It's probably not something she wants to talk about - to me, anyway."

"Probably why she's talking to him," Mary Margaret mutters, gesturing to the office with her thumb.

"Did she mention anything about why she needed to come get you at the butt-crack of dawn?"

"I'm so sorry about that. I'm pretty sure it was just to remind me she's the one in control. By the way, Miss Blanchard, just in case it comes up, she thinks I threatened you with magic to keep my injuries secret from her yesterday."

"What? But that's not true, I chose-"

"I know, but it's better this way," Regina says decisively. "If she thinks you're bold enough to lie to her, she'll never let me come over again."

Mary Margaret sighs. "I don't want you to take the fall for my actions."

"I was going to have to take the fall anyway - there's no way to keep secrets from her." Mary Margaret's eyes are shining with tears and her arms move, for a second, like she's about to reach out and hug Regina, but she quickly shoves them into her pockets. "We got lucky, though, that she had to go to Portland last night," Regina continues, giving no indication that she notices the teacher's emotional turmoil.

"That was very lucky," Mary Margaret agrees. "She didn't happen to mention why, did she? It seemed a little strange and abrupt."

Regina shrugs her shoulders. "I try not to ask too many questions."

"Let's find out," Emma says, noticing the large black handbag beside Regina. "Is that her purse?"

"Yes, I'm watching - Emma!" Regina's eyes nearly pop out of their sockets as Emma starts rifling through the bag. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for evidence, of course," Emma explains. She finally glances up, holding Cora's phone, to see that Regina is shaking and on the verge of tears, and Mary Margaret is trying to position her body in front of the door to obstruct them from view. "Don't worry, guys, this will only take a minute. I know what I'm doing."

It barely takes ten seconds to unlock Cora's phone. Emma would have thought such a powerful and crafty woman would have a slightly more interesting passcode than 1-2-3-4, but she supposes that the mayor never suspected anyone would have the audacity to steal her things.

"Um...nothing on her calendar...she had three outgoing calls to someone named 'Walsh' yesterday afternoon - one of them was twenty minutes long."

"I have no idea who that is," Regina whispers. "Now put away the phone, Emma, please!" Emma quickly grabs a pen from Cora's purse and writes Walsh's number on her arm before replacing everything exactly as she found it.

"Relax," she tells Regina, placing a comforting hand on the other girl's shoulder. "I'm pretty much an expert at not getting caught."

"Your criminal record would suggest otherwise," the brunette quips. She lays her hand on top of Emma's and looks up with wide, scared eyes. "Just promise me you'll be careful? You have no idea what she's capable of, and I don't want to lose you."

"You won't," Emma promises. "I'm just going to the library to do some research. Is that okay?"

"If you're not back in ten minutes, I'm sending a search party,"

"Got it."

xx

After some quick and fruitful Googling - she thinks maybe she should be a detective - Emma returns to find Regina and Mary Margaret. They're no longer in front of Gold's office, so she checks her foster mom's classroom next. Mary Margaret is outside, talking to Gold and Dr. Hopper, and she motions for Emma to go inside and shut the door.

"Your mother left?" she asks Regina, who is sitting at her usual desk, wringing her hands and not even pretending to read. "Are you okay?"

"She and Gold were about to start attacking each other. Mary Margaret and Dr. Hopper split them up before anyone got hurt, then she stormed out."

"What the hell?" Emma wonders.

"They have a complicated relationship," Regina says like that explains everything. "I don't totally understand it - I don't know if I _want_ to understand it."

"Anyway, I found out about that Walsh guy. Walsh Oz. He's a private adoption attorney in Portland."

Regina wrinkles her nose in confusion. "Adoption attorney? Oh, I guess that makes sense. Zelena..."

"At least your mom gets a point for not leaving her infant by the side of the road."

"Maybe the one decent parenting decision she's ever made. Good job, Mother. So, you think she went to see_ him_ yesterday." It's a statement, not a question.

"I mean, from what I know of your mother, it was most likely a closed adoption. That means no contact and no information about the birth parents. She was probably pissed that Zelena managed to find out about her and went to the lawyer demanding answers."

"You don't think she would have...hurt him, do you?"

"You know her better than I do - I just know a lot about adoptions."

Regina sighs, eyes darkening. "I suppose someone should start planning this Walsh's funeral, then. And find Zelena and tell her to watch her back."

Emma is about to ask why she even cares what Cora does to Zelena when Mary Margaret comes back into the classroom. "Emma and Regina, Dr. Hopper would like to speak to both of you."

Emma isn't at all surprised and quickly gets up from her desk, but Regina remains seated, shaking her head stubbornly. "I don't need to talk to Dr. Hopper."

Mary Margaret crosses her arms as if to show she can be just as stubborn, in her own way. "By order of Mr. Gold," she informs both of them. "I'm not asking, Regina, I'm telling."

Regina glares up at Mary Margaret, and for an instant, Emma is worried that her old hatred of the teacher, largely forgotten over the past few days, is about to rear its ugly head. But the anger in her eyes is quickly replaced by fear. "Mother..." she whispers.

"She's not here, Regina. She won't find out," Emma says, grabbing the brunette's hand. She thinks she has some idea of what Regina is afraid of, and it makes her physically ill. "He probably just wants to talk about Zelena, anyway."

"She _can't_ find out," Regina says desperately, locking eyes with Mary Margaret.

"I promise you, she won't. I've learned my lesson, Regina, but you have to do this." Regina searches Mary Margaret's face for a minute before swallowing hard and nodding. Then she extracts her hand from Emma's and walks out of the room on her own, head held high.

xx

"So, Regina, we should probably start by addressing when this issue with Zelena started," Dr. Hopper begins awkwardly.

"Yes, I suppose we should," Regina says in a businesslike tone, but then she stares at her hands and makes no move to start talking.

Dr. Hopper waits patiently for a few minutes before suggesting, "If it would make you more comfortable to speak to me alone, I can ask Emma to-"

"No!" Emma suddenly feels nails digging into her forearm and a grip so tight it will probably leave a bruise.

"Okay, I'm not going anywhere" she says, wincing in pain. "You don't have to cut off my circulation."

"Oh...sorry."

"Emma stays," Dr. Hopper agrees. Regina's grip relaxes, but her hand doesn't move from its position. She sits stiffly, silently, like she's forgotten she's the one who's supposed to talk and is waiting for someone else to start.

"Zelena issues," Emma prompts. "You told me it was a gradual thing."

"Yes," Regina says slowly, looking at Emma and not Dr. Hopper. "She was kind to me when I first met her. We were in Theory of Magic together, and it was...slightly difficult for me. She was very supportive."

"Okay," Dr. Hopper says, sounding relieved that they're getting somewhere. "And what changed?"

"She...I..." Regina takes her hand off Emma's arm and starts fidgeting with her ring. "I confided in her, some things that - that I don't feel like discussing right now because they were quite...personal." Emma reaches over to gently cover Regina's hands with her own as they start to shake, and the brunette gives her a grateful smile before continuing. "Like I said, at first she was very supportive, almost like...like an older sister," she says with a grimace.

Dr. Hopper sits patiently, waiting for her to continue.

"But then she started...'teasing me' sounds so childish, but that's what it was. It was only about little things at first, and she tried to make it seem playful, and I thought...I thought for a while that I was just being too sensitive. For example, she'd see me eating something and subtly comment about my weight, or what my mother would say about it, and...I knew. I knew that I shouldn't have let it hurt me, but..."

"She knew how to exploit your insecurities," Dr. Hopper suggests.

"Right," Regina says, looking up at the counselor for the first time. "And it really wasn't so bad. I could handle it. But then, she'd start bringing up-"

Suddenly, Regina is choking back sobs and her entire body is trembling, and Emma wonders if Dr. Hopper knows about Dani and the whole heart-ripping story - she assumes those are one and the same because, really, how much pain can one person take? - and if he's thought about treating Regina for PTSD, because she probably needs it.

Just maybe not right now, when there's so much else to be dealt with.

Emma slides her arms around Regina, tugging the other girl tightly into her own body in a way that she hoped comes off as supportive rather than suffocating. "I think we should change the subject," she informs Dr. Hopper.

"Right." He clears his throat awkwardly. "How about you, Emma? Has Zelena done anything of significance to hurt you?"

"Um, no, not really...except for the hallway incident that everyone saw." She doesn't feel like mentioning exactly what Zelena had done to her in the hallway. Regina's head is buried in her shirt and she's trying so hard to keep herself together. Saying the words out loud might be the thing that sends her over the edge. "She wasn't particularly nice to me, because I'm friends with Regina, but she never tried to hurt me specifically."

"Alright." Dr. Hopper looks like he knows there's more to this story, but he doesn't press. "Regina," he says softly, "was the incident in the hallway yesterday the first time she's done something to harm you physically?"

Regina raises her head from Emma's chest and sniffs. "Yes...kind of," she amends when the blonde shoots her a quizzical look. "It's the first time she's hurt me badly."

"So there were instances of more mild injury?"

"We're studying magic. Things can get messy," she mumbles.

Dr. Hopper nods. "It seems like you're saying most of these problems with Zelena happened in Mr. Gold's class." Without waiting for a response, he continues, "What, if anything, did Mr. Gold do in response?"

Regina squeezes her eyes shut before once again resting her head against Emma.

"Nothing," Emma supplies.

"I see." Dr. Hopper studies both of them like he's sizing up how much more he'll be able to ask without Regina completely shutting down. The brunette is gradually pressing her body closer against Emma's, lifting her arms to hold tightly to her friend's waist.

"May I ask how you feel about Zelena claiming to be your sister?" the school counselor asks tentatively. Emma raises her eyebrows at his choice of question. It's a complete non-sequitur, but maybe that's the point - she's never completely understood how this kind of thing works.

Regina doesn't respond right away. When she finally looks up, she has a far-off, thoughtful look in her eyes, and she's addressing Emma like she's forgotten Dr. Hopper is even in the room. "Do you think Gold knew?"

Emma's brow furrows in confusion. "About Zelena? I know she's obsessed with him, but he doesn't seem like the kind of guy you'd go to with your deep personal-"

"Not from her." Regina shakes her head. "I mean, maybe she would have - I'm not going to pretend I understand how she thinks. But Gold, and my mother, they were...not friends, exactly, but they've known each other for a long time. He taught her magic."

"He taught her - oh shit!" Emma exclaims as a disturbing thought enters her mind. "You don't think he's her father, do you? I mean, Zelena's father."

"No!" Regina looks like she might vomit. "I hope not, anyway."

"Yeah, that would make all her attempts to seduce him even more disgusting than they already are."

"Please stop talking," Regina begs, rubbing her eyes against Emma's shoulder like she's trying to remove the terrible picture that's been burned into them.

"Yeah, thanks Emma. I might need some therapy of my own to deal with _that_ mental image," Dr. Hopper jokes. Emma thinks that might have been a slightly unprofessional comment, but inexplicably, it makes Regina laugh, and the atmosphere of the room becomes much more relaxed.

"We have a quiz in Pre-Calc tomorrow," Regina suddenly says, checking her watch. "Miss Blanchard said she'd do a quick review session at the end of class. I don't want to miss it."

"I suppose we've covered plenty for one day," Dr. Hopper agrees. "Emma, I would like to talk to you again, alone, at some point. And Regina, I know your mother doesn't...well, if you need someone to talk to..."

"I would like that," Regina says quietly. "But I don't want her to hurt you. She could-"

"Let me worry about me. You know my door is always open to you."

"Thank you." Regina swallows, grabs Emma's hand, and drags her from the room.

xx

On their return to math class, Regina and Emma discover they shouldn't have worried about missing anything, because Gold cancelled first period for an emergency assembly in which he gave a long, impressive speech about bullying, and the other students are only just now returning.

Henry tells them the highlights. Gold apparently used to be a not-very-nice guy who used his magic to bully others before realizing that wasn't the best way to win over people who were worth winning over. It took finding the right person to show him that he had to start fighting for the good inside.

"He kept shooting these adoring glances at Miss French the whole time. It would have been cute, if it wasn't so creepy."

"See!" Emma elbows Regina. "I told you he's her Mr. Darcy!"

Regina makes a noise that sounds like it might have been meant to be a giggle. "Why would Gold call an emergency assembly to talk about his love life to the whole school?"

"Because he's a weirdo. You've known him your whole life, why haven't you figured that out by now?"

"Actually, his love life was mostly an aside," Henry clarifies. "I think the point was supposed to be that hurting people is wrong and we should try to, like...not do that? And, you know, fight to be better for the people we care about and protect them."

Emma rolls her eyes. "Unfortunately, the person who really needed to hear that message wasn't even there."

"You'd be surprised what people got out of it," Henry says with a cryptic smile. Almost as if on cue, Ruby approaches their little group, shyly waving her hand. (Which may be the weirdest thing Emma has seen all day, because shy is the last word that would ever describe Ruby.)

"Regina, I need to apologize. I had absolutely no idea what Zelena was doing. If I had, I totally would have wolfed out on her at some point."

"It's fine. How would you have known?" Regina asks uncomfortably.

"Well, now I know, and I'll be ready to protect you if you need it."

Mulan comes over next, a bow and quiver full of arrows slung over her shoulder. "I just want you to know that _I _stole Locksley's magic bow," she says seriously. "And I'm prepared to use it if Zelena tries anything else."

"I'll be ready to fight, too, as soon as I get my hook," Killian chimes in. "Zelena's not going to get away with this." It's his first day back at school after the unfortunate incident with his hand. _That was quick, _Emma thinks. He must have ended up letting someone use magic to help him. The end of one arm is bandaged, but he looks like he's doing well otherwise.

Henry grins. "See? I told you. I'm learning to sword-fight in P.E., so I'll try to put those skills to good use. Nolan says I'm a natural. And, well, you've got Emma, too. For everything."

Regina looks like she might burst into tears. "Thank you," she whispers.

Emma rolls her eyes and smiles. The people in this town are absolutely fucking nuts sometimes, but they're also pretty awesome when they want to be.

xx

The rest of the day passes by fairly normally, with the small exception of Regina finding out that she has more friends than she knows what to do with. At least half the school has publicly sworn loyalty to her by the time the bell rings for last period. Regina is looking more upbeat than Emma has ever seen her, which is quite something considering where she was at this time yesterday.

She's holding Emma's hand on the way to Gold's classroom, though whether it's a conscious action or not is anyone's guess.

"Emma," she says, suddenly stopping both of them right in front of the door. "I just wanted to say thank you, for being such a good friend to me. I know it sometimes seems like I don't see what's right in front of me, but I do. I really, really appreciate how much you've been there for me over the last few days. Without you...I don't even want to think about it."

"You're not supposed to thank someone for being your friend," Emma says, awkwardly looking at her feet. "I mean, it's polite, but that's not how it works. I just did what any decent person would have done."

"It's just...I don't know how to have healthy relationships. I'm not good at letting people see me. I know I'm really screwed up, and that tends to scare people off, but you...you've seen everything and you're still here. And when I'm with you, you just make everything feel so much easier. I just want you to know that."

"You're not screwed up," Emma argues. "You've just got a lot going on that would be hard for anyone to cope with on their own. I get it. You should have seen me before I had that shrink in juvie to help me deal with my problems."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I had some foster parents who...well, they didn't have magic, obviously, but they may have had some similarities to your mom in other ways. And I've seen the shit Zelena does to you, what you have to put up with on a daily basis. I don't know everything you've been through, obviously, but...damn, Regina, you're one of the strongest people I've ever known."

Regina shakes her head sadly. "I don't feel very strong," she mumbles.

"But you are! You're so strong, and brave, and beautiful, and amazing - and perfect. Don't forget perfect."

Regina's cheeks blush dark pink, and she bites her lower lip. "I think...I think you're perfect, too," she whispers, and suddenly, she's cupping Emma's cheeks in her hands and raising herself up on her tip-toes. Emma's breath hitches and her eyes close involuntarily, and for the briefest instant she feels Regina's lips pressed against hers in the sweetest, softest kiss she's ever experienced.

When her eyelids open again, Regina has already turned away and is opening the door to Gold's classroom. Emma blinks and reaches up to touch her lips, wondering if she imagined the whole thing.


	12. Weakness and Strength

A/N: Thank you, as always, for your kind words. I always look forward to hearing what people think.

**Chapter 12: Weakness and Strength**

_What the hell was that?_ Emma thinks, fingers rubbing her lips in confusion. Did Regina actually just kiss her? Was that real? If it was, why the hell didn't she kiss her back?

"Regina!" Emma calls. "Wait!"

The scarlet flush of Regina's cheeks when she whips her head around answers at least some of her questions. "Emma, I'm so sorry," she whispers, looking at her feet, the wall, anywhere but Emma's eyes. "I don't know what came over me. I didn't mean to - I should have asked. I shouldn't have assumed you felt the same way."

"Felt what way?"

"Felt...I don't know. You were just being so _kind_, and with everything just falling apart, I think I read more into it than was actually there. I'm sorry, Emma. You're the best friend I've ever had, and I don't want to ruin that. Can we just...forget this ever happened?"

Blinking back tears, she turns to enter Gold's room, but Emma grabs her arm. "Regina, what are you talking about? You think I didn't want that?"

Regina inhales sharply. "Did you? You seemed..."

"You just took me by surprise; that's all. I've wanted to kiss you since pretty much the first time I saw you. I just didn't think you would ever reciprocate."

"Really? I thought I was making my feelings pretty obvious over the last few days."

Emma gives a small, embarrassed laugh. "I guess I'm not used to anyone expressing those kinds of feelings toward me. I told you, none of my other relationships have been...meaningful. And now I've made you cry and completely fucked up my first kiss with a person that I actually care about."

"You didn't fuck it up," Regina argues, wiping the tears from her cheeks. There's a teasing spark in her eyes as she continues, "The kiss itself wasn't too bad, if I do say so myself."

"You know," Emma says slyly, placing her hands gently on Regina's waist, "I've heard the second kiss is always better anyway."

"I've actually heard something like that, too." Regina raises an eyebrow and smiles. "First kisses are usually awkward. Should we try again?"

"Yeah, let's test this theory."

Breathing deeply in anticipation, Regina grabs Emma's shoulders and pulls the blonde down to her own height before pressing their lips together in a kiss that starts just as soft and sweet as the last one but quickly becomes more forceful and filled with longing and something else Emma can't even name. Regina's hands clasp around the back of her neck, her fingers tangled in messy blonde curls, and Emma pulls the brunette's body flush against her own before lifting her slightly off the ground. The quietest moan comes from the back of Regina's throat as the kiss deepens.

Emma isn't sure how long they've been at it when she starts to feel she might pass out from lack of oxygen. Regretfully, she slowly draws her mouth away, fairly certain that her heart skips a beat as Regina's teeth run along her lower lip. The other girl's breathing is ragged and her lips are swollen and redder than normal.

"Theory correct," she gasps.

Emma rests their foreheads together and tries to catch her breath. "That was...holy shit!"

"You're so articulate," Regina teases.

"You're so...I don't even know."

"Well, this is very sweet." The pair instantly spring apart at the sound of Gold's voice. "But you're both going to be late for class."

Smiling sheepishly, Emma follows Regina, who is apologizing profusely to their teacher, into the classroom, only to come to a sudden stop when she realizes another student is present, and it's not Tinkerbell.

"What are you doing here?" Regina growls.

Zelena just smirks. "I was a bit worried about you, after our little altercation yesterday. You took quite a fall. I had to come see for myself that my little sister was okay."

Regina smiles sweetly. "I'm fine. Are you?"

"Yes, I see you're doing _quite_ well, thanks to our dear friend Emma. As for me, well, I'll be better in a few minutes."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, Regina," Gold says in an uncharacteristically cold tone. "You really never do learn your lessons."

"I - what?"

Suddenly, Gold disappears in a puff of dark purple and red smoke and is replaced by Cora Mills. Emma feels her knees buckle in shock - so this is what shape-shifting looks like. Regina's shoulders tense, but she refuses to cower before her mother. Instead, she holds her head up and shifts her body in front of Emma's, protecting her.

"Hello, Mother," Regina says quietly.

"Hello, dear. I was just having a lovely talk with Zelena."

"Oh, that's...nice."

"Yes, I was just expressing my regret that circumstances left me unable to keep her when she was born. I would have been so proud to have her as a daughter." _I'm sure you would have, _Emma thinks. _You could have had so much fun being a mother-daughter magical sociopath team. _"Especially," Cora continues with narrowed eyes, "because my other daughter has been such a disappointment to me."

Regina flinches. "I'm sorry, Mother," she says quietly, unable to hide the pain in her voice. Emma surreptitiously raises a hand to rub her back, which Cora thankfully doesn't see.

"Yes, well I suppose you can't always help it, with your spineless father's blood running through your veins. Though, I did think there was hope for you yet, with him no longer part of your life. I thought you might be able to fulfill my dreams for you. But, alas..."

Her courage buoyed by Emma's touch, Regina sticks her chin up stubbornly and says, "Do what you want to me, Mother. I'm not afraid of pain anymore - you know that." Glaring disgustedly at Zelena, she adds, "And I'm certainly not afraid of you."

Zelena rolls her eyes. "Pretty words, but experience suggests otherwise."

Cora laughs darkly. "Oh, you foolish child. Have you not figured out what I'm going to do? I should hope that by now, I know _exactly _what you're afraid of."

"I-" before Regina can finish her sentence, her body is suddenly flung to the side. There's a loud thud as she hits the wall, and ribbons of wallpaper shoot out to tightly restrain her. Emma stares, horrified, until she realizes that with Regina no longer shielding her, she's now face-to-face with Cora Mills.

"If you don't struggle, dear, they won't hurt you," she tells Regina with a dismissive wave of her hand, which only makes Regina struggle harder against the bindings on her wrists and torso.

"Emma, she's going to - Emma, you have to get away!" she cries.

"Enough!" Cora snaps her fingers, and another strip of wallpaper springs out to cover Regina's mouth. "I thought I'd taught this lesson well enough the first time, but apparently I did not. It's really a shame; Emma, you seem like a bright girl with a decent future ahead of you. I'm sorry you had to be collateral damage of my daughter's failure to grasp that love is weakness."

_Love is weakness - does that mean...?_ Emma gasps as she infers the meaning of Cora's words - probably not quite the meaning she intended them to have. She doesn't have time to think much about it, though, because Cora's hand is reaching out and suddenly it's _inside_ her chest. Despite being gagged, Regina is screaming so loudly that Emma is afraid her eardrums might burst, but it's nothing compared to the pain in her chest as Cora squeezes and tugs at what she can only assume is her heart.

She supposes she should wonder how this is even possible, but all she can think about besides the pain are the tears streaming down Regina's cheeks and her friend's agonized screams as she watches her mother destroy yet another person she cares about.

_Loves, _Emma corrects herself. _Regina loves me._ It's the desperate thought she clings to as Cora gives her heart another painful tug. Zelena gasps and Emma sees a confused look cross Cora's face, and then she notices something interesting: it's not coming out. She smiles triumphantly and tells herself one final time: _Regina loves me._

"Love isn't weakness," she tells Cora. "It's strength." With that statement, a burst of white light comes out of Emma's chest and Cora is blown backwards across the room before she's covered with purple smoke and disappears. Gasping for air, Emma lifts a hand to feel with relief that her heart is still there, though it's pounding so hard it feels like it might jump out on its own.

A shell-shocked Zelena looks around the room in confusion before snapping her fingers to release Regina from the wall and disappearing herself. Emma thinks that they'll probably have to worry, at some point, where both of them went, but for now, she can feel her heart beating in her chest, and Regina is in her arms, and even if it's just for a moment, everything is okay.

xx

"Mary Margaret, we need to go home. Now," Emma demands. She marches into her foster mother's classroom, dragging a no longer crying but still shaken Regina behind her.

Mary Margaret is standing by the window filling the bird feeders, but she immediately drops what she's doing and approaches the pair with a concerned look on her face. "What happened?" she breathes, taking in Emma's panicked expression and Regina's glassy, haunted eyes.

"The mayor happened," Emma mutters. Mary Margaret sighs and wordlessly pulls both girls into her arms, and Emma allows herself to rest her head on her foster mom's shoulder for a moment, surprised by how natural and comforting it feels.

"Is anyone hurt?" Mr. Nolan asks, and Emma jerks her head up, wondering when and how he got into the classroom. Why had she not noticed him before? Well, she supposes she had other things on her mind.

He's looking at Emma, and the blonde realizes with a start that she's expected to answer. She has to, since Regina hasn't uttered a single word since Zelena let her down from the wall. "No one's hurt," she says, grimacing. "Not physically, anyway." Mary Margaret gulps and shoots a worried glance at the girl on her other side, who is standing stiffly, neither accepting nor resisting the embrace.

"Where's Mr. Gold?" the math teacher asks.

Emma shrugs. "He wasn't in class. Neither was Tink, actually. Someone should find her."

"I'll get Mother Superior and get right on that," Nolan promises. "Mary Margaret, are you okay with...?"

"Yeah, go on, David. I've got this." Nolan jogs out of the classroom, and Mary Margaret turns back to the two girls. "Let's get out of here, okay?" Emma nods and gives Regina's hand a light tug, leading her unresponsive friend out of the building.

xx

Mary Margaret flits nervously around the apartment like one of those birds she's so fond of, cleaning things that aren't even dirty and never turning her eyes away from the two girls on the couch. Emma has to admit she shares her foster mother's worry. She's seen plenty of scared and upset Regina over the past few days; she knows how to handle the tears and trembling hands, but the brunette's current stillness is unnerving. The only sign that Regina has any awareness whatsoever of her surroundings is her bone crushing grip on Emma's fingers that grows even tighter when the blonde so much as shifts her position.

"Hey," she says quietly, sweeping her un-crushed thumb along Regina's forehead. "You want to tell me what's going on in there?" No response. "Okay, then," Emma mutters.

"Emma, what happened?"

"I told you already," Emma says impatiently. "Cora disguised herself as Gold, she said some things, Zelena said some things, Cora tied Regina to a wall and tried to rip out my heart, and when she couldn't, she disappeared. That's about all there is to it."

"I know, but - why was she ripping out your heart? Did she say anything? Do you have any idea why she couldn't? Did-"

"M&amp;M, will you _please_ let it go, at least for now?" Emma begs with a nervous glance at Regina. It's not that the brunette has given any indication that she's listening to the conversation, but replaying the events over and over can't be great for her. It's certainly not great for Emma - she'd personally rather forget about everything that happened in Gold's classroom today, though she knows she can't.

"Fine," Mary Margaret sighs, plopping down on the couch and taking Emma's other hand. "But I would like you to see Dr. Hopper again at some point in the near future."

"I think that's already been decided."

The trio sit in uneasy silence for a while, until Mary Margaret's cell phone rings and she and Emma both nearly jump out of their seats. Regina doesn't even seem to hear it.

"It's David," Mary Margaret says, sighing with relief. "Hello?...She is?...Okay, I'm glad to hear it. Yes, I'll tell them...Okay, good...I don't know. I was looking forward to it, but I think maybe that's not such a good idea tonight...Yes, we can definitely take a rain-check...Of course, I'll ask them...Okay, I - bye, David." Mary Margaret hangs up the phone with a faraway look in her eyes, which she quickly shakes away. "David says they found Tinkerbell. She had decided to stop studying magic with Mr. Gold and train with Mother Superior instead, which makes more sense anyway, so that's why she wasn't in class today."

"Tink's okay?" Regina asks, suddenly snapping to attention. Emma is a little surprised that that's what did it, but then she realizes it's the first piece of solid good news they've heard since the incident.

"Yes, she's with Mother Superior right now, along with Mr. Gold and Miss French and some others, I suppose, trying to figure out what to do about..." Mary Margaret's voice trails off.

"About my mother," Regina supplies, eyes dark.

"Yes," Mary Margaret says apologetically. "They're worried she's a danger to the town, and...I'm so sorry Regina. I don't know what's going to happen, but-"

"It's fine," Regina mumbles. "This is all my fault; I don't want her to hurt anyone else."

"This isn't even a little bit your fault," Emma argues.

"Emma, she almost killed you today! Because of me!"

"She almost killed me today because of herself, because she's-"

"Emma," warns Mary Margaret. Emma shuts her mouth, reminding herself that this woman is Regina's mother, even though she'd personally take dying of hypothermia at the side of the road over being raised by _her._ She's not sure how the hell Zelena's childhood could have been so bad she'd be envious of having Cora Mills as a parent. Maybe she should feel sorry for the older girl, but she's hurt Regina a few too many times.

"By the way, Mr. Nolan is going to drop by in a bit with Granny's takeout. Do you want anything?"

"Not hungry," Regina mutters.

"I can always go for a burger...and fries...and a milkshake. Chocolate. Large. Mostly just the milkshake. Come on, Regina, are you sure you don't even want a milkshake?"

"I've never had a milkshake before."

"You've never - well, that is a problem that we're going to fix tonight. Mary Margaret, this woman needs a milkshake!"

"Regina, I can cook if there's something else you'd prefer. I know you don't usually-"

"I'm fine," Regina snaps, but a second later, her face morphs into a contrite expression. "I mean...thank you, Miss Blanchard, but I really don't have much of an appetite today," she mumbles, squeezing her eyes shut and taking deep, controlled breaths.

Mary Margaret looks at Regina apprehensively, like she's a bomb that might explode at any moment, and Emma supposes that in a way, she is. She really is trying so hard to hold it in, though; that much is obvious.

"So, Mr. Nolan, huh?" Emma says, wiggling her eyebrows. "It seems like you two are spending a quite a bit of time together lately." She hopes Mary Margaret will go with it and the total change of subject will do the trick.

Mary Margaret blushes. "No, he's just...just a friend," she says sheepishly while typing a text to him.

"I heard his divorce was just finalized. Are you getting back together?" Regina pipes up, sounding legitimately interested in the teacher's response. Whatever thoughts in her head are causing her turmoil are momentarily forgotten.

"No, we're just-"

"_Back_ together?" Emma exclaims. "His divorce? M&amp;M, you have this whole sordid dating history I know nothing about!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Regina says quietly. "I didn't realize-"

Mary Margaret shrugs. "It's not a big secret or anything, but I do feel guilty gossiping about my love life at a time like this."

"Gossiping about your love life is probably better than most of our other potential conversation topics," Regina points out.

"Yeah, so spill!"

"Fine. It's not much of a story, though. We dated in high school, but we broke up senior year and went our separate ways. He got married, I...didn't. We both eventually moved back to Storybrooke and became coworkers and good friends. Which is _still_ all we are."

"Okay, I'll totally believe that's all there is to the story," Emma says sarcastically. One look at Regina's face tells her there's plenty more, but apparently no one is willing to share. Some say that small towns have no secrets, but Emma has discovered that small towns have many secrets that are closely guarded from outsiders. Which she still is. "I'm pretty good at eavesdropping; you were planning to go out with him tonight."

"Yes, I was planning to eat dinner with him, as friends. People eat dinner with friends all the time."

Regina looks down at her lap, the hand that isn't attached to Emma's fidgeting with her skirt. "Sorry for ruining your date, Miss Blanchard."

"What? No, it wasn't a date. Anyway, you hardly ruined it. Last I checked, you aren't your mother, and you certainly aren't responsible for any of her actions."

"Unless you are her and you're shape-shifting right now. Was it too soon for that joke?"

"Curses, you've discovered my secret," Regina says, attempting a playful smile.

Emma gently leans her head on the brunette's shoulder for a moment. "Regina, you know you're my favorite, and I really like holding hands with you, but I'm starting to lose feeling in my fingers. Also, I kind of have to pee, so unless you want to join me..."

"Oh." Regina looks down with wide eyes, shocked she's still holding Emma's hand. She lets go reluctantly, almost as if she's considering the offer, and says, "Hurry back."

"Always."

While she's in the bathroom, she hears a knock at the apartment door. Raising one eyebrow, she checks her watch and thinks that Nolan must be _really_ eager to see Mary Margaret if he's bringing dinner over at four thirty.

But then she hears Mary Margaret - calm, kind Mary Margaret who never loses her temper or uses rude words, or so she thought - growl, "What are you doing here? Get the hell out of my apartment," and she rushes back out to the main room so fast she's pretty sure the water's still running. Regina has a fireball in her hand and Mary Margaret has drawn a bow (_Where the hell did that even come from? _She doesn't remember seeing one lying around.) and is aiming it at the front door.

And standing at the front door, Emma sees none other than Zelena Thropp.


	13. Enchanted Hearts

**Chapter 13: Enchanted Hearts**

"Zelena, what brings you to our humble home?" Emma asks. She tries to keep her voice light, but her eyes are narrowed in suspicion as she quickly moves to stand in between her best friend and foster mother, and she's trying desperately to remember what kinds of magic tricks she knows, just in case this turns messy.

"I came to talk," Zelena promises. "I'm not here to hurt you, any of you. I swear." As if to illustrate her point, she raises her hands in surrender, and Emma can't help but notice the strange leather cuff around her right wrist. It's not exactly her typical style - it's not anyone's typical style.

"Is that...?" Regina asks hesitantly.

"Courtesy of Gold and Mother Superior. I have no magic - you can check if you don't believe me." Mary Margaret and Emma watch with bated breath as Zelena extends her arm in the direction of her half-sister. Regina approaches cautiously, sparks of purple magic flickering on her fingertips. Her hand hovers briefly over Zelena's wrist, and the cuff glows for an instant before Regina steps back and gives a small nod.

"So, what do you want?" she asks curtly. "Make it quick, because I'm not even slightly in the mood to hear anything you have to say right now."

"Regina, I'm sorry," Zelena suddenly bursts out. Emma raises an eyebrow, certainly not expecting that. Mary Margaret lowers her bow slightly, though she still looks ready to shoot at a moment's notice.

Regina is unimpressed. If anything, she's even angrier.

"You think your apology means anything to me?" she practically spits. "You were trying to help my mother - our mother? - murder Emma only a few hours ago! I don't care if she manipulated you, or whatever other ridiculous excuse you have for your actions. If you think I'm _ever_ going to forgive you for that, you're even more insane than I thought."

"Not to mention, you tried to kill both of us yourself yesterday," Emma mutters, because apparently Regina doesn't care about her own well-being enough to mention it, but she does.

"I didn't come here to ask for forgiveness," Zelena says, shifting uncomfortably. "I came because I had a long talk with Gold, and I have some...interesting information that might help you. And possibly me."

"I have no interest in helping you with anything and, since your sole fascinations lately have been trying to kill me or make me relive the worst moment of my life, I doubt you could have anything to say that would possibly help me. Now leave."

"You heard her. Leave!" Emma exclaims.

Zelena's eyes flicker to Emma for a moment before she replies, "Yes, I did a lot of horrible things, and made you _mentally_ relive the worst moment of your life several times. And although I hardly expect you to accept my apology, I am sorry. However, what I'm trying to tell you could help prevent you from _actually_ reliving your worst moment."

Regina's face contorts in fury. "If you even think about laying a finger on Emma, I will-"

"Relax, I'm not threatening your girlfriend."

"I'm not her girlfriend."

"You can call yourself whatever you like; the fact remains that I'm not the one who's trying to kill you."

"Since when?"

"Why don't you follow instructions and leave?" Mary Margaret asks, once again drawing back her bowstring.

"Wait!" Regina's face is white, and her hands are shaking like crazy, but there's a flicker of determination in her eyes. "You said you spoke to Gold. Did he talk to you about...Mother?"

"Yes."

"You have exactly one minute of my attention before I kick you out."

"Right. Well, obviously, she's pissed now that Emma is apparently more powerful than her, and her Plan A is ruined. So now, she's coming up with a Plan B to go after both of you. Regina, I - I didn't realize-"

"Save it. You would have realized if you had actually listened to me in the first place."

"I know." Zelena looks sincerely sorry for a moment, and Emma almost feels a pang of sympathy. Being abandoned is a pretty shitty feeling, it's easy enough to get so caught up in self-pity you don't realize there are worse things.

"So, what did Gold say?" Regina asks impatiently. "How are we going to stop her from killing Emma?"

Zelena takes a deep breath. "He said the reason she abandoned me, and the reason she's so horrible to you, is that she's incapable of love. She ripped her own heart a long time ago, and without it..."

"Hold on," Emma interrupts. "She ripped out her heart? I thought...wouldn't she be dead?"

"Not necessarily," explains Regina, a grim expression on her face. "There are certainly some negative effects to magically removing a heart, but you have to crush it for the person to actually die." Mary Margaret winces.

"But you can't...you can't live without a heart" Emma protests. "I may have gotten a C in Biology, but even I know that! How does any of this make sense to you guys?"

"Magic," Regina and Zelena say simultaneously, both glaring impatiently at the blonde. For a second, they actually look like sisters, but Emma doubts either one would take kindly to having it pointed out.

She clears her throat awkwardly. "Right. Magic. Carry on."

"He thinks if we put the heart back in her chest, then it will solve both of our problems. He said you'd know where to find it."

"There's no guarantee it will solve anything. What if she's just a terrible person who's incapable of love regardless of her heart? I mean, she made you."

Zelena shrugs off the comment. "Maybe she is. You know her better than I do. I just thought it was worth a try. I wasted a lot of time being jealous of you, but I realize now that there's a way for us to both get what we want."

Regina laughs darkly. "I hope you realize that putting her heart back isn't going to turn back time and redo our childhoods."

"And what made you change your tune so drastically in the last three hours?" Emma demands. "As Regina said before, you were _helping_ Cora earlier this afternoon."

"My adoptive father...well, he's a drunk," Zelena says sadly. "And ever since my mother died, he's pretty much hated me. He always says I'm..._wicked_...because of magic. When I found out about Cora, I thought - you know, because she's such a powerful sorceress - that she'd accept me, and she'd think the magic was a good thing. And I heard what you said about her, but I was just so caught up in this fantasy I had...then when I finally met her, she told me she was _proud_ of my gift, and that was really all I ever wanted-"

"Get to the point," Emma growls. She'd be lying if she said she didn't at least partially understand Zelena's alleged feelings, but she doesn't trust her, at all.

"But once I saw what she was capable of, I realized my father may have been right about magic all along," Zelena concludes, looking down at her feet. "And maybe, Regina, you were right all along."

"You wouldn't be the first to fall under Cora's spell. She does have a talent for manipulating people," Mary Margaret says reasonably. "And replacing her heart...you're right, Regina, that it won't make up for the last eighteen years of damage she's done to both of you, but, at the very least, it probably can't make the situation any worse."

Regina clenches her jaw and crosses her arms tightly over her chest. "I'll think about it," she finally affirms. "Now get out."

xx

Regina is silent for a long time after Zelena leaves, refusing to talk to anyone or touch even a bite of food. Dinner that night is one of the least comfortable meals of Emma's life, and she finds herself feeling terribly for Mr. Nolan, whose idea of a reunion date night with his high school sweetheart probably did not include worrying about an angry sorceress or watching over two badly shaken teenage girls. He pretty much takes it all in stride, though.

He and Mary Margaret keep it light-hearted, discussing such topics as the planning committe for the Miner's Day Festival or the Storybrooke High football team's inability to score a single touchdown this season after the graduation of Liam Jones, Killian's (apparently much less useless) older brother. It's the sort of conversation Emma had expected to take part in much more frequently when she first moved to Storybrooke, back when she still thought it was a normal small town.

She misses those days. The days before she discovered there was powerful magic coursing through her veins, before she learned to set things on fire and levitate objects using only her mind, before someone had tried to _rip her heart out _(she has to suppress a shudder at that one), before -

Well, she supposes she doesn't want to go back to before Regina. Somehow, Regina manages to be worth it.

The two of them are alone on the living room couch when the brunette breaks her long silence. "Do you think Mary Margaret would let me stay here again tonight?" she asks.

"Probably. You don't...you don't think your mother will come looking for you again, do you?"

"She's on the run from Mr. Gold," Mary Margaret points out, entering the room to water her plants for possibly the third time that day. "She's probably trying to lie low."

"Maybe we can get Gold to have a sleepover," Emma suggests, only half joking. "If he's here, she won't be."

"That's not a bad idea," says Mary Margaret. "I'll call him. At the very least, he can cast a protection spell to keep her out."

"Everything always comes at a price with him, though," argues Mr. Nolan. Apparently, he's still here - Mary Margaret doesn't seem to mind. "What's it going to be this time?"

"What do you mean, price?" Emma asks warily, but she's ignored.

"There's no price that's worth more than Emma's life," Regina snaps, eyes flashing in anger. "I'll sell myself into eternal slavery if that's what it takes!"

Mary Margaret's eyebrows raise slightly before she nods in agreement. "Hopefully it won't come to _that_, but you're right. We'll do whatever we have to."

"Guy, I'm flattered, but I still don't understand what you're talking about."

"You know Gold's saying, 'All magic comes with a price?'" Regina asks. Emma nods. "Well, if he does magic for you, he typically asks for something in return, and it's usually not something simple like money."

"His prices have gotten a lot more fair since Belle came into his life, though," Mary Margaret points out, typing a text on her phone. "I mean, Miss French, to you."

"I don't want you to sell yourself into slavery," Emma argues. "If he asks you to do something crazy like that, say no. I'm not worth-"

"Don't you dare say that!" Regina shrieks, jumping up from the couch. "You're worth _everything_! I'm not going to let her hurt you."

Emma swallows hard and pulls Regina into her arms. It's hard to admit, even to herself, exactly how terrifying it is to have someone magically reach into your chest and try to yank out the organ that sustains your life. Even though she knows that, realistically, Regina is no match for her mother in terms of magical power, her vow of protection is still means a lot.

Mary Margaret's phone buzzes almost immediately. "Gold says he'll be right over," she says, sounding a bit surprised. "He says nothing would give him greater pleasure than helping stop the queen of hearts."

"Queen of hearts?"

"It's...it's kind of her nickname in magical circles," Regina whispers into Emma's shoulder. "Because of the hearts. It's her thing."

Emma squeezes her best friend - or whatever they are now, they'll have to discuss that at some point - tighter. "She's not getting mine," she says quietly.

xx

"I can put a protection spell on the apartment," Gold explains, "so you'll be safe as long as you're inside."

"What if she breaks it?" Regina demands. "You know how powerful she is."

"And you know how powerful I am. I'm giving you the strongest spell I have. Now, of course, there's a possibility that Cora can break it, but it would take a while and allow plenty of time to prepare for a fight."

"If it's your strongest spell, then what's the price?" asks Emma.

"Funny you should ask, dearie. It would seem you've been paying attention in my class," Gold says with something that sounds eerily similar to a cackle. He plucks a hair off the sleeve of her sweatshirt. "My price is this."

"My hair? What do you want with my hair?"

"What do you want with it? It's no longer attached to your head."

Emma shrugs. "Fine, whatever." It's weird, but what isn't these days?

"That's all?" Regina asks suspiciously.

"No, of course not. There's something you have to do for me in return. And you, Regina, must be the one to do it."

"What does she have to do?" Mary Margaret steps protectively in front of both girls. "If it's going to put her life in danger-"

"I think Regina knows." Gold gives the brunette a conspiratorial wink that makes Emma's hair stand on end. "I believe Zelena was here earlier with some...suggestions for you?"

Regina glares at her teacher and puts her hands on her hips. "Why is it so important to you to have my mother's heart back in her chest?"

"The question you _should_ be asking, dearie, is why isn't it important to you? Think about your options. Think about-" his head jerks almost imperceptibly toward Emma "-what you have to lose."

In an instant, Regina's arms are around Emma's waist, and Mary Margaret's are around both of them.

"I'll do it," she says, resting her head against Emma's chest so she can hear the heart beating steadily inside. "I'll do whatever it takes."

xx

_She's sprinting through the forest as fast as she can, chased by a pack of hungry werewolves. "Ruby, no," she whispers desperately. "It's me - I'm your friend." But the wolf either isn't Ruby or doesn't understand, because it's still chasing her and quickly gaining ground. Its eyes are red but somehow still cold with lack of emotion, and Emma struggles to run faster, her chest heaving with exertion. Outrunning a large four-legged animal with superpowers is no easy task, but she has to try. For Regina._

_Suddenly, her body is flying through the air - she must have tripped over a root or something. She lands hard on cold pavement, and as she looks around, she realizes she's no longer in the woods but on the road, at the Storybrooke town line. But the wolf is still there, and now it's practically on top of her. She thinks that maybe if she crawls over the town line, she'll somehow be safe. She's about to drag herself to the other side when the wolf disappears in a puff of black smoke and turns into Cora Mills._

_"Miss Swan," she says, cackling wickedly, "did you really think you could escape me so easily, you foolish girl?" She snaps her fingers and Regina and Zelena appear beside her, the latter holding a glowing green knife to the former's throat. "You have a choice," Cora informs Emma. "Leave town now, and never come back. You'll live a long life, but she dies. Or, you can stay and let her live, and I'll rip your heart out instead."_

_"Emma, go! Save yourself, now!" Regina cries. Zelena snarls and presses the knife harder against her sister's throat to shut her up. Regina can only make terrifying choking sounds now, but her eyes plead with Emma, telling her to run._

_"But I can't," Emma whispers, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I promised I would never leave you."_

_"Emma," Regina croaks. "Please don't make me watch you die." Emma wants to reply, but she can't because Cora has apparently decided her time for choice is up, and there's a hand reaching into her chest, and-_

"Emma? Emma!" Suddenly, she feels herself being shaken awake.

"Regina!" she cries, gasping for air. She blinks rapidly, trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness. She gradually realizes she's on the floor of her bedroom, tangled in blankets. She must have fallen out of bed sometime during the nightmare. Regina is kneeling over her with wide, concerned eyes, wearing the same set of pajamas she borrowed yesterday.

"It's okay; you're safe. It was just a dream," Regina says soothingly. Emma thinks that she might feel slightly more reassured if the dream hadn't so closely resembled an event that, despite her previous belief that such a thing wasn't possible, actually happened in the last twenty-four hours.

"Regina, I...she...she tried to-" Emma tries to get her voice under control, but every word she attempts to say only makes her sob harder. It's embarrassing, frankly, to be turned into a blubbering idiot by a nightmare. It's not like she hasn't had one before, but it's the first time she's actually woken up to someone trying to comfort her - she should probably reciprocate the effort and calm herself down a bit.

"I know. I know," Regina whispers. "She _tried_. But she won't succeed. We'll stop her, I promise." With a surprising amount of strength for her small frame, the brunette helps Emma back into bed before lying down practically on top of her. "She's not crushing your heart."

Emma continues to cry, more quietly now, and holds onto Regina so tightly she's afraid she might suffocate her, but the contact is the only thing currently holding her together. She feels a head settling on top of her chest and her shirt gradually becoming damp, and she assumes Regina must be crying, too.

"I'm going to do it tomorrow, what Gold and Zelena said," the other girl manages to say through her tears. "It's the only way. Maybe if her heart's back in her chest, she'll stop trying to tear other people's out."

"What if...what if she hurts you?" Emma asks. She knows, of course, that Regina has to honor the agreement with Gold, and that having a mother who is no longer heartless might make her life better in the long-run, but she can't stop worrying. What if Cora doesn't want her heart back? What if she fights Regina? What if something even worse happens?

"There's nothing that would hurt me more than losing you," Regina declares, and Emma feels the same swell in her chest that occurred when she finally managed to access her healing magic for her friend's leg.

"I get it, but losing _you_ is not exactly something I'd like to experience either."

"You won't. I talked to Zelena - we planned everything out. I'm going to my mother's vault first thing in the morning to find her heart while Gold and Mother Superior distract her. Then we're going to sneak up and put it back, and hopefully-"

"How can you trust Zelena?" Emma argues. "She might just be trying to screw you over. I've never seen someone reform so quickly. Or, Gold could be trying to screw both of you. I still think he's creepy."

Regina sighs. "I know," she says softly. "But I don't see any other options at this point, at least ones that don't involve killing her, and...I know she's a horrible person, but I still love her."

"I know."

"You think I'm stupid, don't you? Love is weakness, and all that."

"What? No, of course not. And I obviously don't think love is weakness. Maybe your mother won't, either, once she's actually capable of it again."

"Thank you," Regina says, scooting herself up so she can place a kiss on Emma's cheek. "For what it's worth, I don't think it's weakness, either."

xx

**A/N**: Hope you enjoyed! Something's a'brewing... Coming up next - the proverbial shit hits the proverbial fan.


	14. Blood Magic and Fairies

**A/N: ** Please enjoy (or don't enjoy, if you were hoping for kisses and fluff) the latest installment. I'm still having so much fun writing this story and look forward to hearing your thoughts. And I still don't own OUAT.

**Chapter 14: Blood Magic and Fairies**

"You're not coming!" Regina says stubbornly, crossing her arms like a pouting five year old. "You're staying in this apartment where you're safe."

"I'm not safe if she breaks through the protection spell!" Emma protests. "I've only been studying magic for three weeks. I'll be much safer if I'm with you."

"She only wants to kill you if I'm there to watch, and who knows what kind of booby-traps she has on her vault? It could be dangerous-"

"So I'm coming with you! I'm not about to let you walk into a dangerous, magically booby-trapped vault by yourself!"

"Zelena's coming, too."

"All the more reason you need someone to protect you!"

"This is my fight, and my family. I'm doing this to protect _you_, and I've got it handled."

"If I may," Mary Margaret cuts in, looking up from the pancakes she's flipping on the stove, "as Emma's legal guardian and someone who cares about you quite a bit, I'd personally feel better if you were together. Preferably here, but I get that this is something you have to do."

Regina looks like she's about to explode on Mary Margaret. "You don't understand," she growls. "You don't know what she's capable of."

"But I do," Mary Margaret argues. "I didn't always, but I do now. And I also know what you and Emma are capable of, and I think your best chance is together."

"Then you're an even bigger idiot than I thought."

"Why?" Mary Margaret challenges. "Because I believe in you? You can protect her, Regina. And I think she can protect you, too."

Regina's arms twitch, and Emma is afraid she's about to punch Mary Margaret in the face. Instead, she drops them limply to her sides and hangs her head. "I couldn't protect Dani," she says softly, voice cracking.

Mary Margaret inhales sharply before pulling Regina in for a swift hug. "It's not the same," she tells her. Emma would have thought that was the absolute wrong thing to say, but apparently Regina finds it somewhat comforting or at the very least, not offensive, because she lets herself lean against Mary Margaret for about half a second before pulling away.

"You can come," she grudgingly tells Emma. "But you have to stay out of the way and do everything I tell you."

"Duly noted, Your Majesty," Emma says sarcastically. Regina sighs.

"Great," Mary Margaret says with obviously false cheerfulness. "You girls should probably grab a bite to eat before your mission. Regina, these pancakes are made with apples from your orchard, and I will be gravely offended if you don't try at least one."

"I'm not-"

"Nope, you've used up your 'I'm not hungry' quota for the week. Now sit," she orders. Emma raises her eyebrows. She never realized Mary Margaret even had an assertive side until a few days ago, but she's discovering she kind of likes it.

Groaning, Regina perches on one of the stools at the counter and buries her face in her hands. Emma comes up behind her with a swift hug.

"You wanna talk about it?" she asks, bending over slightly to rest her chin on Regina's shoulder.

"I want today to be over," Regina mumbles.

"Well, you'll be one step closer after you eat your delicious apple pancakes," Emma offers. Regina makes a strangled sound that's about halfway between a laugh and a sob, and Emma holds her tighter. She wishes, for both of their sakes, that she could promise that everything would be okay.

xx

"What's _she_ doing here?" Zelena sneers when she sees Emma standing behind Regina on the sidewalk in front of the mayor's house. "It can't be healthy for either of you to be this codependent so early in the relationship."

"Shut up, Zelena," Emma growls.

"You want me to do this, we're going it my way. So, _she's _coming. If you have a problem with it-"

"Lead the way."

"Okay," Regina breathes, smoothing some nonexistent wrinkles in her shirt before turning toward the front door. "You both have to be very quiet, and don't touch anything."

"What happens if we-"

"Just don't touch things!" Zelena says impatiently. "I'm sure with your three weeks of training, you'll be amazing at discerning which dark magical objects have the potential to take your life."

"Aw, Zelena, it almost sounds like you care."

"Could you both _please_ shut up!" Regina cries. "I don't think either of you completely understands just how dangerous this is! It's possible that none of us could walk out of here alive."

Emma and Zelena immediately sober, casting contrite glances toward Regina. "Sorry, sis," Zelena mumbles. Regina's eyes flash in anger and she looks like she wants to comment on the nickname, but instead she shakily unlocks the front door and leads them into the mayoral mansion. Emma has to work hard to hold back a whistle - it's definitely the nicest house she's ever seen, although it hardly looks like a place someone would actually live.

She follows Regina and Zelena into the living room, where they stop in front of a huge fireplace. "The vault is through here," Regina informs them.

"How...how do we get through?" Emma asks, eyes darting between the two sisters in confusion. "And please don't say magic, because I kind of figured that much."

"We have to set a fire, and then...a passage should open."

"That's easy enough, then. Let's get started," Zelena says. Regina nods and stands in front of the fireplace, screwing up her face in concentration. Her fists are clenched and her body is visibly vibrating with the effort but nothing is happening.

"I'd tell you to help," Zelena tells Emma in an undertone, "but it seems highly likely that Cora sealed it with blood magic, so you'd be just as useless."

"What's blood magic?"

"I thought I told you to be quiet!" Regina exclaims. "I can't concentrate."

"Blood magic means it can only be used by Cora or a close relative," Zelena explains. "And it's setting a fire - this is like, day one magic. Even you can do this, Regina."

"Why don't you help, then?" Emma asks. "Since you apparently have just as much nasty Cora DNA."

Zelena rolls her eyes and indicates the cuff on her wrist, while Regina turns back to the fireplace for a second try. Three minutes later, not even the smallest flames have appeared, and Regina is near tears.

"Why can't she do it?" Emma whispers to Zelena.

"If I had to guess, I'd say she's too scared. For the magic to work, you have to _really_ want it to happen, nothing holding you back."

"That makes it so comforting to think about all the times you tried to kill us," Emma says sarcastically.

Zelena sighs and nods her head toward Regina several times before Emma finally grasps what she's supposed to do. "Hey, it's okay," she says, pulling the shaking girl into her arms.

"Emma, I can't do it," Regina whispers. "It's the easiest spell there is, and I can't even do it."

"Yes, you can. I believe in you. You're stronger than her," she soothes, reaching up to stroke Regina's hair like she's wanted to do for the last three weeks. "Amazing and perfect, remember."

"And, if you want to continue having this person whisper sweet nothings in your ear," Zelena cuts in, "we need to get moving on the fire-starting effort."

With renewed determination, Regina faces the fireplace, and the fire instantly comes roaring to life. She extends her hand, red flames change to purple, and the back wall fades away into a long passage. Emma's eyes widen in shock, but Regina simply says, "Let's go."

The trek through the passage is long and, at least in Emma's opinion, spooky. The lights are dim and there's a faint thumping sound that grows louder and louder the further they walk.

"What is that?" Emma can't help but ask.

"Hearts," Regina answers simply.

"Hearts? Like, still-beating hearts? What the hell? Is your mom secretly Edgar Allen Poe?"

"What happened to being quiet?"

Finally, the long passage comes to an end, and they enter a chamber that reminds Emma of a post office because its walls are lined with square metal boxes. Only these metal boxes have small windows that are glowing red.

"So, these boxes all have magical hearts in them?" Emma asks in disbelief. "Whose hearts are they?"

"I don't know," Regina whispers, horrified. "I didn't realize she took so many...she's really a monster."

"Let's get to the more pressing question: which one is hers?" Zelena is wearing her own expression of horror and disgust, and Emma finds herself slightly more willing to believe that the older girl honestly wasn't aware of how awful her mother was. It would be difficult to imagine such a high degree of depravity.

"She wouldn't keep hers with the others," Regina says. Her face is thoughtful, and she's looking around the room desperately, frantically. "Here!" she suddenly exclaims, running over to a jeweled mirror on the wall.

"Behind the mirror?" Emma asks. "But how do we-"

"Shh..." Regina is concentrating again, and the mirror gradually starts to glow violet. Suddenly, a large needle pokes out of the wall. "Blood magic," Regina explains. "I have to give blood."

"That seems-"

"Shut up," hisses Zelena.

Regina pricks her finger on the needle and the mirror swings open to reveal a small compartment with a non-descript wooden box inside.

"Is that it?" Zelena asks breathlessly.

Hesitantly, Regina reaches into the compartment and slowly opens the box. Inside is a leather pouch that gives off an eerie red and black glow when opened. "This is it," Regina confirms. "Now let's get out of here."

The trio sprint toward the passage leading back to the fireplace, but something in the room seems to finally sense a disturbance, and the ground starts shaking, knocking all three girls to the stone floor. Blinking, Emma sits up to see the walls starting to close in around them.

"Um, Regina? I think the room's about to crush us."

"Shit," Regina mutters. Her face pales, and her eyes reflect the same fear that Emma feels.

"Maybe you can teleport us out," Zelena suggests, struggling to remain calm. "You know, so we don't all die in here."

"You know better than anyone that I can't do that!" Regina exclaims. "Why don't you do it if you're so much more powerful?"

"As you may recall, I don't have magic anymore," growls Zelena, waving her leather cuff in Regina's face. "It has to be you!"

"But I can't. I'm sorry." Regina looks down, and Zelena groans. Emma reaches out to grab her friend's hand - if this is the end, at least they're together, she tells herself. She wonders if that wasn't Mary Margaret's reasoning in getting her to come along.

The second their palms meet, Emma feels herself blown backwards in what feels like a very forceful electric shock. A cloud of purple smoke rises around them, and when it clears, she's shocked to see that they're back in the living room, and the fireplace looks completely untouched.

Zelena raises an eyebrow. "You did it," she says. "Impressive."

"We can talk about that later. Let's get to Gold's shop before it's too late." Still clutching the heart, Regina sprints out the door.

"I'm all for a morning jog, but did we not just establish you can get us there using magic?" Zelena groans.

xx

The three girls hide behind the bushes and watch cautiously as Gold and Cora face off. Regina holds her mother's heart in a leather pouch, and her hands are shaking so much she looks like she's about to drop it, which Cora would surely sense..

"You've got this," Emma says, rubbing gentle, reassuring circles on her back. "It's gonna be okay."

"Shh," Zelena hisses. "None of his will work if she hears us." Emma rolls her eyes and glares at the older girl, still unsure if she's an ally or an enemy. Regina attempts a smile that turns out more like a grimace.

Spells are flying back and forth, magic in rich, dark colors that looks like evil fireworks over Main Street. A few brave - or incredibly stupid - townspeople have left their homes to watch the battle raging on the sidewalk, but it appears there's some sort of magical barrier protecting them from getting hit by the worst of it. There are two glittering objects resembling green and blue lanterns fluttering through the sky, but when Emma looks closer, she realizes they're actually people. Small people. With wings.

"Hey," she whispers as quietly as she can. "Is that Tinkerbell? And Mother Superior?"

"They're fairies,' Regina explains. "They can - I'll explain later. We really do have to keep silent." Emma nods and forces the confusing thought out of her mind, focusing only on comforting Regina so she's calm enough to do what needs to be done. The back rub seems to be doing the trick - her hands have stopped trembling enough that mayor's heart is no longer in imminent danger of splattering on the pavement. Emma wonders if enchanted hearts can even splatter. She wonders why she's wondering these things now when she needs to be paying attention to the battle.

Mr. Gold magically conjures a sword in each hand, which is Zelena's cue. Stepping out quickly from their hideout, she begs, "Please don't kill her, Mr. Gold. I only just got the chance to meet my mother, and I have so many more questions I need to ask her."

Zelena's acting is good, Emma observes. She half expects her to turn on the waterworks any second. Cora, however, is unmoved. "You foolish girl," she spits. "Stay out of this or you could get killed." Okay, maybe not completely unmoved - at least she's concerned about her newly discovered daughter's life. Zelena should take what she can get.

"I can help you," Zelena insists. "I'm more powerful than Regina; you said so yourself, and so did he." She tugs the sleeves of her to jacket cover her wrists, so Cora can't see the cuff that renders her completely powerless.

"This is between Gold and me," Cora says coldly. "I won't ask you twice to stay out of it." The interference distracts the witch's attention enough that Mother Superior - or whatever _fairy_ she really is - has the opportunity to throw a glittering ball of blue light. The second it hits Cora, her entire body is paralyzed and glowing.

Zelena's eyes dart toward the bushes where Emma and Regina are hiding. "You ready for Operation Loving Mother?" Emma asks.

Regina squeezes her eyes shut, but not before Emma sees a few tears leak out, and her entire face crumples. "Hey," she murmurs, wrapping her arms lightly around the brunette's waist. "Whatever happens, I will be here for you. You know that, right?" Regina nods, and Emma presses a soft kiss on her forehead. "Now get going - that fairy magic won't hold forever."

Regina dusts herself off and darts out of the bushes, removing her mother's heart from its pouch. Approaching Cora from behind, she quickly shoves the glowing organ into her chest.

Mayor Mills gasps, and her body convulses as a pulse of magic shoots through her.

"Mother?" Regina asks quietly, stepping around to look into her mother's eyes. Both she and Zelena have the most heartbreakingly hopeful expressions on their faces, and Emma shoots a prayer or wish or whatever it should be called to the fairy godmothers she now knows actually exist that this won't have all been in vain.

Emma can't see Cora's face, but she guesses from the smile that's slowly forming on Regina's that perhaps the mayor is gazing upon her child with love for once in her life. Although she personally feels that being heartless is not an excuse and that nothing she does now will make up for sixteen years of physical and mental abuse (she hopes Cora wasn't using magic on Regina when she was sick, but she wouldn't put it past her), not to mention the crap her abandonment put Zelena through, Cora's daughters are either forgiving enough or fucked up enough to want to give her a chance.

Then the blue glow around Cora's body fades and she starts choking and clutching her chest before collapsing to the ground on her back.

"Mother!" Regina screams, immediately dropping to her knees besides her mother's fallen form. Emma feels a wave of nausea come over her as she realizes what's about to happen a moment before it actually does, and she scrambles to get out of the bushes and help in some way, although she has no idea how. Regina cradles Cora's head to her chest, weeping, while Zelena hovers about three feet away, eyes filled with dread.

"Mother, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to," Regina sobs. "Mother, please don't leave me."

"Regina," Cora croaks with what might perhaps be her dying breath, "and Zelena...I-" she doesn't get to finish the sentence before her body slumps on Regina's lap and her eyes flutter closed.

"You what?" Zelena asks frantically, kneeling down next to her half-sister. "What is it?"

Her mouth hanging slightly open in horror, Regina places a hand on her mother's chest to feel for a pulse. Emma feels her own heart stop momentarily when she sees the brunette's almost imperceptible headshake. "She's gone," Regina whispers.


	15. The Price

**A/N**: Wow - somehow when I wasn't paying attention, this story developed over 200 followers. Thank you so much for all your feedback and support. I should warn you that the next couple of updates might come a little bit more slowly than normal because I'm trying to handle the characters' grief with appropriate sensitivity but without letting things get excessively dark. It's still supposed to be a hopeful story. :) For those wondering, I foresee this fic having about 20-25 chapters total, so there's still a way to go, but it's not going to be a never-ending saga.

Coming up next chapter, Papa Mills will make an appearance, along with more of Zelena, Gold, Mother Superior, Dr. Hopper, and Little Henry.

I still don't own these characters or _Once Upon a Time._

**Chapter 15: The Price**

"She's gone," Regina whispers, but it sounds like a shout because the street is enveloped in a still, eerie silence, like the entire town of Storybrooke is holding its breath. Emma feels wind rushing in her ears, and the outer edges of her vision blur, and all she can see is Regina kneeling on the cold pavement, her mother's dead body in her arms, her face looking so lost and confused and broken.

And then there's a scream, and it's Zelena. She's yelling at Gold, saying that this is his fault and he knew this would happen, and Emma can't understand a word of it, but Gold looks just as shocked as any of them.

"You manipulated everything," Zelena screams. "You just wanted her dead!"

"But I didn't," Gold whispers.

Regina looks up. Her jaw is set in a hard line, but her eyes say that her soul has been shattered into a million tiny pieces, and Emma doesn't hesitate anymore. In an instant, she's kneeling on the ground beside Regina, pulling the other girl into her arms and whispering unintelligible soothing sounds in her ear, but Regina doesn't seem to notice. She doesn't seem to notice anything except the alarmingly still woman she's clutching to her chest with progressively shakier hands.

Mother Superior flutters to the ground and reassumes her human size. "It's the price," she tells Zelena solemnly. "The price of her dark magic."

"I don't understand," Zelena sobs.

"When her dark heart returned to her body, it had a negative reaction with the purity of the fairy dust," the fairy explains. "The light magic attacked the dark, and it didn't leave enough left over to sustain her life. I'm so sorry."

Emma furrows her brow in confusion. She'll admit to not having absorbed much information from Chemistry class (possibly as a result of taking it at a combination of three different schools and one prison), but she's pretty sure fairy dust isn't supposed to kill people.

"The fairy dust didn't kill her; it killed the dark magic," says Mother Superior. Emma blinks. She didn't realize she'd said that out loud. "The spell that I cast should have preserved what was still pure and good in her, but apparently there was nothing left."

"No," Regina whispers. "No, that can't be true." She frantically peppers her mother's face with kisses like she expects it to wake her up, but of course it doesn't, because since when can kisses raise the dead? "Why isn't it working? True love - it's the most powerful magic. She should be waking up..."

Emma's heart sinks as Mother Superior decides to voice the same thought that crossed her mind but she'd felt was too offensive to share. "Love is only true if it's reciprocated. Someone with a heart as dark as your mother's could never feel true love. She-"

"Shut up!" Zelena screams, raising her arms like she's going to throw a curse at the fairy before realizing at the last second that she's wearing the cuff. Though she still hates Zelena, Emma finds herself agreeing with the sentiment - where the hell was Mother Superior the day they taught grief counseling at the convent?

Suddenly, Emma senses her foster mother at her shoulder, and she almost sighs with relief because she's never felt to grateful to see someone in her life. "We should get her out of here," Mary Margaret says quietly. "She doesn't need to hear this."

Emma nods in agreement, and she takes one side and Mary Margaret takes the other, and they gently pry Regina away from Cora's body and lead her away from the crowd of onlookers. Out of the corner of her eye, Emma sees Dr. Hopper doing a similar thing with Zelena, who's desperately fighting against him to land a punch on Mother Superior. Emma and Mary Margaret, on the other hand, meet shockingly little resistance; Regina's eyes are glassy and unfocused and she looks like she can't even begin to process what's happening.

It appears that Gold is now threatening Mother Superior. The air is once again filled with the crackle of magic, and Emma takes one final look at the scene on Main Street before averting her eyes and following Mary Margaret into the apartment building.

xx

She loses track of time.

They're sitting on the couch, all three of them. Regina is in the middle, and Emma and Mary Margaret are each holding one of her hands. She's staring blankly at the wall and looks as locked in her own mind as she did the night before, but this time Emma knows there's nothing she can say to make it even a tiny bit better.

So she sits. She sits and lets Regina hold her hand so tightly she's afraid she'll never be able to move her fingers again. She sees Mary Margaret shift her weight slightly, and she knows the teacher wants nothing more than to be on her feet, cleaning or otherwise trying to fix something, but she doesn't leave. Neither of them even considers it.

It's the middle of the afternoon and Emma's stomach is starting to growl for want of lunch when Regina finally speaks. Her voice is raspy and she sounds like she's going to cry, but her face remains as expressionless as before. "Miss Blanchard, we missed the math quiz."

"Actually, you didn't. Gold cancelled school today, so I'll give it tomorrow instead."

"Oh, okay." Regina nods slowly, like she's having trouble processing the information. Like she doesn't even want to process all of the information.

"I can give you some practice problems, if you like," Mary Margaret offers. Regina nods again, and Mary Margaret gently leads her to the kitchen table and sets her up with the worksheet she'd probably intended to assign in class the day before. "Let me know if you need any help, sweetheart," she says softly before backing away from the table so Regina can have some space.

"You okay?" she whispers to Emma.

"Sure, are you? You knew the mayor better than I did." She can't help but notice that her foster mother has been on the verge of tears for quite some time.

"Yeah, I'm...I'm not...it's not about Mayor Mills herself. I mean..."

"I'm not sad that she's dead, either," Emma says darkly. "All I care about is Regina."

"Yeah, that. It's always sad when someone dies unnecessarily, of course."

"Of course."

"But, you're right, it's about Regina." Mary Margaret sighs. "I lost my own mother when I was about her age. It was...it was obviously a different situation, but I can imagine how much pain she's in right now, and it's...a lot."

"I didn't know your mom died," Emma says. Come to think of it, she knows next to nothing about Mary Margaret's family.

"She passed away after a long illness," Mary Margaret recites, like it's a speech she's rehearsed numerous times. "It was very hard, and I still miss her, but at least..." the teacher's voice cracks, and she casts a heartbroken glance at Regina, who is intensely focused on her Pre-Calc worksheet. "At least I had a lifetime of her love to draw strength from."

Mary Margaret dissolves in tears, which makes Emma do the same, and as she's being squeezed in her foster mother's arms, she thinks maybe she's lucky she's never really had a family to love because at least she's never had to feel the pain of losing them.

After a few minutes, Emma wipes her eyes and sits down at the table beside her friend with a bowl of cereal, and Mary Margaret places an apple cut into small slices in front of Regina, who stares at the fruit like she doesn't recognize it or understand what she's supposed to do with it.

"How's the math?" she asks awkwardly.

Regina shrugs.

"You know, you could probably take tomorrow off from school," Emma suggests. "I don't think anyone would mind."

"Mother would never allow that," Regina immediately replies, turning back to her math problems.

Emma stares questioningly at Mary Margaret, who gives her a firm look that clearly says, "Don't push it."

xx

Half an hour later, Emma has her own books spread on the table and is absentmindedly trying to complete some history reading when Regina looks up and asks Mary Margaret for more math problems.

The teacher looks pained. "Yeah, just give me a few minutes. Do you need something to eat or drink, or anything else?" she asks desperately, glancing for a second at the uneaten apple on the table.

Regina shakes her head and stares at her hands for a moment before a tremor passes through her body and she suddenly starts blinking. "Miss Blanchard," she mumbles, "I need to call my father. He...he doesn't know..."

Mary Margaret swallows hard before responding, "Do you want me to take care of that for you, sweetheart?"

"No, I can do it myself," Regina insists, pulling her cell phone out of her bag. "I'll just...do it now."

Emma considers pointing out that it's the middle of the night in Shanghai, but she thinks better of it at the last second. She doesn't know Mr. Mills at all, but if he's not the kind of dad who will pick up the phone for his daughter at three in the morning, she's going to have some choice words for him when they finally meet.

Regina stands and tightly clutches the back of the chair as she dials her father. It rings a few times, but eventually he picks up.

"Daddy?" she whispers, and he says something back; Emma can't hear what it is, but it doesn't really matter because it's as if the mere sound of his voice is enough to unravel whatever tiny thread was left holding Regina together. Thankfully, Emma and Mary Margaret's quick reflexes prevent her from collapsing on the floor: Emma hugs Regina's sobbing frame tightly against her chest, while her foster mother gently pries the phone out of her hand.

"Hello, Henry, this is Mary Margaret Blanchard...No, Regina is - this is about Cora. She...she died...I-" Mary Margaret quickly walks to the other side of the room. Emma can still hear her, but she assumes it's so Regina can't see her face.

"No, of course Regina isn't okay. I think you need to get here as soon as possible...I don't care; she needs you. She's needed you for the last two years." Mary Margaret takes the phone out into the hallway, shutting the door firmly behind her, and Regina cries harder into Emma's shoulder.

_What am I supposed to do now?_ Emma thinks desperately. She's getting better at comforting people after a lifetime of inexperience, but this situation is so far over her head. She settles for rubbing Regina's back and saying, "It's okay. I've got you," because it's something she's heard from Mary Margaret before. She whispers it over and over until the expert herself can return and come up with something better.

When Mary Margaret finally comes back, she's wearing a grim expression and holding the phone out. "Regina, your dad wants to talk to you," she says, pressing the phone to Regina's ear for her because she's in no state to hold it herself. Mr. Mills says some things, Regina sobs a bit in reply, then Mary Margaret finally hangs up the phone and nestles herself against Regina's back, wrapping surprisingly long arms around both girls.

"Hey, it's a Regina sandwich," Emma remarks.

The brunette manages a tiny smile through her tears, and Mary Margaret whispers, "Your dad's flight will get in tomorrow night."

Regina inhales deeply and struggles to say something. "He didn't want to come," she finally chokes out.

"But he is coming," Mary Margaret says reassuringly. "And Emma and I won't leave your side for a second. You won't be alone, Regina. You're going to get through this."

xx

The evening passes by in a blur. Regina intermittently cries and completes an entire semester's worth of homework assignments while Mary Margaret bakes about a hundred cookies in seven different varieties. Emma drifts back and forth between her own homework (she seriously can't believe Regina is insisting that they're both going to school tomorrow), holding Regina when she cries, and helping Mary Margaret lick the spoon in between each batch.

She's sampling the snickerdoodle batter when she hears a heavy book slam shut, and Regina announces that she's finished reading her AP Biology textbook.

"Glossary and acknowledgments, too?" Mary Margaret asks.

Regina nods.

"Want to take a break and watch a movie?" Emma asks hopefully. "Since we never actually did that at sleepover number one."

"We're already on sleepover number three," Regina comments. "I think this friendship is moving a little fast for me."

"Was that a joke?"

"I don't know. Was it funny?"

Emma smirks and gently pulls off Regina's glasses. "Come on. Your brain might explode from too much knowledge if you keep this up."

Regina allows Emma to grab her hand and lead her into the living room. "What movie do you want to watch?"

Emma quickly browses Mary Margaret's DVD collection. _Nothing with parent issues_, she reasons, _and nothing including hearts. That pretty much rules out the entire Disney collection and most of the rom-coms._ She finally settles on _Monty Python and the Holy Grail -_ which, quite frankly, she's shocked Mary Margaret even owns - thinking that maybe a laugh will be good for everybody.

By the end of the opening credits, Regina is smiling a little and snuggled into Emma's side, so she considers it a win.

Mary Margaret comes in with a huge platter of cookies, which she puts on the coffee table. "Do you two want company, or should I occupy myself elsewhere?"

"This movie is pretty amusing. You should stay and watch," Regina mumbles, her eyes never leaving the TV screen.

Mary Margaret shrugs and settles on the other end of the couch, giving the girls some space. "I've actually never seen this one before," she remarks.

"Yeah, it doesn't really seem like your taste."

"It was a birthday gift, from...somebody."

"Really, Mary Margaret? What secret love life mysteries are you hiding now?"

"Shush; I'm trying to watch the movie," Regina whines. Emma tugs the brunette in closer, wrapping both arms around her. It occurs to her, momentarily, that she's cuddled more with Regina in the last week than she's done with everyone else in her life combined, but she decides not to overanalyze it. She's cozy.

By the time the movie finishes, the cookies have mostly disappeared (thought Emma doesn't recall eating more than two) and all three of them have tears of laughter on their faces. Mary Margaret checks her watch. "Well, I think I'm going to get ready for bed," she yawns. "Got to leave for school bright and early tomorrow."

Emma feels herself beginning to drift off as well - it's been a _long_ day. "Hey, you want to borrow some pajamas again?" she asks. Regina nods and follows Emma into her bedroom, where she puts on the same set she's worn the last few nights.

"Sorry, we haven't gotten a chance to do laundry lately," the blonde says sheepishly.

"It's okay. They're soft," Regina murmurs, stroking the worn flannel. Suddenly, her eyes widen, and her face takes on a greenish tint. She claps a hand over her mouth and sprints into the bathroom.

"Oh man," Emma mutters. She follows the brunette to where she's bent over the toilet and kneels beside her. "Eating twenty cookies in one sitting probably wasn't the greatest move, huh?" Wincing in sympathy, she gently brushes the hair out of Regina's face and strokes her back while she throws up everything in her digestive tract.

"I think I'm finished," Regina eventually croaks. "I'm sorry for-"

"Don't worry about it. Just brush your teeth and let's get some rest."

A few minutes later, Regina returns and lies gingerly on the edge of Emma's bed. "Sorry for being gross," she whispers.

"Whatever, it happens. Are you feeling better?"

"Kind of. I should probably try to exercise more self-control with Miss Blanchard's baked goods in the future - my stomach hurts."

"Do you want me to rub it?" Regina looks confused. "To make it feel better," Emma clarifies. "I think sometimes it helps."

"I...that sounds a little creepy, but yes."

Emma motions for Regina to scoot in closer to her on the bed and tenderly rubs her upset stomach. "Does that feel okay?" she asks. Regina nods, rolling slightly onto her side so she can reach out to caress Emma's cheek with her thumb.

"When you're here, everything feels okay." Emma feels her heart pound, and she almost has to avert her eyes because Regina is gazing at her with so much love it's overwhelming. That is, until she remembers why she's sleeping over in the first place, and her eyes fill with tears. "Emma, my mother..." she says shakily.

"I know," Emma whispers. "I'm so sorry."

"I killed her."

"What? No, Regina, you didn't kill her. It was - well, I don't know if it was an accident, but it definitely wasn't your fault. Gold, or Mother Superior...I don't even understand what happened."

"Emma, I put her heart back in her and she died."

"Yeah, but then there was that fairy dust, and I think that's what did it? You didn't know, Regina," Emma soothes, drawing the other girl's body closer in a protective embrace.

"But I should have known something was wrong. Gold is...I should have known. I just - I wanted her to love me," Regina sniffs.

Emma has no idea what to say, so she just softly hums and lets Regina cry into her shoulder until her breathing slows and deepens, and they both drift off into an uneasy slumber.

xx

"Regina, are you sure you want to do this?" Mary Margaret asks for about the tenth time as both girls finish getting ready for school. "I'm not going to force you to go to school today if you're not ready."

"I'm fine," Regina snaps. "And even if I wasn't, I don't think sitting alone in your apartment all day would make me feel any better."

Emma starts to offer, "I could stay with-"

"No! I'm fine, and I'm going to school. If you two are going to insist on dawdling, I'll just meet you at the car," Regina growls, slinging her backpack over one shoulder and marching out the door.

Emma raises an eyebrow at Mary Margaret "We shouldn't take this personally, right?"

Sighing deeply, the teacher shakes her head. While Regina may have craved comfort the night before, ever since she woke up this morning she's been pushing both of them away with more force than Emma is accustomed to.

"Right, so I'll just give her some space."

"I'm not sure if that's the best idea," Mary Margaret says, cringing as though she's remembering something unpleasant.

"What do you mean?"

"That's what I tried to do the last time Regina was grieving. I thought it was the right thing, but it wasn't. I failed her, and I regret it every single day."

"This is about Dani, right? And how she blames you for getting her killed or something? You said it was your biggest regret."

"Dani's death _was_ my fault, but that's...obviously, I regret what happened. It haunts me every day, but my biggest regret is that I allowed Regina to push me away afterwards."

"Like she's trying to do now?"

"Yes, but a million times worse. She was so angry at the world - not that I blame her - and, of course, I bore the brunt of it, though she closed herself off to most people. And then, anyone she didn't push away, her mother did. Anyone who would have helped her."

"Well, she was pissed at you," Emma reasons. "It's not like she wanted you hovering and taking care of her. You can't blame yourself for that."

"But I do. I was hurt by her rejection, and it was childish. I was one of the few adults she trusted, and I not only betrayed her trust by telling her mother about Dani, I abandoned her when she needed me more than ever, and - well, we won't get into that now. Just...I'm not making the same mistake again, and I don't want you to, either."

With a final shake of her head, Mary Margaret starts to walk out of the apartment, and Emma follows, unsure what to think. She still doesn't completely understand the whole situation with Dani, and maybe it is all Mary Margaret's fault and she should be pissed at her on Regina's behalf, but she can't help but be impressed with her foster mother. She's known very few adults who actually seem to understand their role in children's lives and accept responsibility for their own failings. She wishes the foster system had more Mary Margaret Blanchards.

xx

"Regina, I don't get this crap about the asymptotes," Emma whines. "Can you help me?"

"You live with our teacher," Regina growls. "You should have asked for her help with your homework last night. Why are you bothering me? I'm trying to read." Emma rolls her eyes - Regina has been staring blankly at the same page of _Founding Brothers_ for about ten minutes, and she never reads that slowly. Besides, she's not wearing her reading glasses, and she can barely tell the difference between English and Chinese without them.

"Okay, fine, I just wanted to hear your voice," she admits. "Even if it's angry. You sure you're okay?"

"Of course I'm okay. What would ever give you the idea that I wasn't?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the fact that you picked out the grungiest outfit in my entire closet this morning, or that you're trying to read without your glasses. Among other things."

Regina sighs and buries her hands in the pocket of Emma's giant hoodie. It's obvious that she's playing with her ring under the fabric.

"It's okay, you know. If you 're not okay. No one is going to judge you."

"Mother would."

"Yeah, but-" She wants to say, "But she's not here," but that feels wrong. So, too, does, "She was a terrible person." Instead, she settles for, "Maybe she would have thought - wrongly, I might add - you were acting weak, but I bet she would have been honored to be your weakness."

The words are like a cannonball to whatever walls Regina has been rebuilding; she's instantly sobbing in Emma's arms, practically pinning the blonde to the back of her chair.

"Emma?" she whispers.

"Yeah, what's up?"

The words come out so quietly that at first Emma isn't sure she's heard properly. "I love you."


	16. Aftershocks

**Chapter 16: Aftershocks**

Emma is pretty sure the wind has been knocked out of her chest. "You...you what?" she chokes. And she feels like an idiot because she knew. Of course she knew, but it's one thing to suspect a person's feelings and quite another to hear them spoken aloud with so much vulnerability and tenderness and, well, _love. _Especially so suddenly in such an unexpected situation when she's never had someone say those words to her before in her life, and she knows she's not handling it well but somehow she can't seem to control any of it.

"I..." Regina's voice trails off, and she suddenly presses her lips against Emma's.

"Wait - what are you doing?" the blonde gasps, pulling away from the embrace.

"I...I don't know," Regina quickly backtracks, blinking furiously and trying to choke back her tears. "I...you don't...I'm sorry, Emma. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to." Trembling with barely restrained sobs, she begins inching away from Emma and back onto her own chair.

"Hey, wait," Emma says softly and mentally slaps herself for her piss-poor reactions to being shown affection. "You don't have to apologize, okay? You never have to apologize for loving someone."

"But I made you uncomfortable, I shouldn't have just-"

"You didn't do anything wrong," Emma quickly insists. "I'm just...I don't know what kind of headspace you're in right now with all this crap going on, and I don't want you do make any impulsive decisions you're going to regret. That's all."

"So, you think I'm impulsive?" Regina sniffs, tears fading into anger. "Did Miss Blanchard tell you that, because-"

"What? Regina, no! I just meant-"

"You know what, forget it," Regina cries. She storms out of the room, and Emma leans back in her chair, wondering how she always manages to fuck everything up.

"What did you do?" Mary Margaret asks warily when she returns from the photocopier in the teacher's lounge. Emma's head is in her hands on her desk.

"I just...she...I'll go take care of it," she says with a deep sigh. "I'm just not very good at this."

Mary Margaret flashes her a small smile. "She was headed towards the second floor bathroom."

"Thanks," Emma mutters. With a soft groan, she pushes herself up from her chair and follows Regina's tracks out the door, mentally cursing Cora Mills and Gold and Mother Superior for leaving such a mess to clean up.

xx

She finds Regina in the women's restroom on the second floor, just as Mary Margaret predicted. The brunette is crying and repeatedly hurling a roll of toilet paper against the mirror.

"That would probably be more satisfying if you used a harder object," Emma remarks lightly.

Regina's response is to fling the toilet paper at the blonde's head and walk up to the mirror with her fists clenched. Before Emma can stop her or even process what's happening, she punches the mirror as hard as she can. Emma gasps as glass shatters all over the floor and sink; Regina's fingers are bloody and there's definitely a few glass shards embedded in them.

"You're right, that was more satisfying." Regina grits her teeth in pain. "Now, go away."

"Regina, that...that wasn't what I meant."

"I said go away! I don't want to hear whatever it is you have to say. I know I'm impulsive, I know I'm an idiot, I know I make horrible, reckless decisions that ruin other people's lives." She's crying so hard her words come out as wheezes. "And I know...I know I don't deserve for you to-"

"Regina, just stop, okay," Emma practically yells. She places her hands on the other girl's shoulders and pulls their bodies closer together. In a much softer voice, she says, "Look at me."

"No."

Lifting one hand to stroke a tear-stained cheek, Emma ducks her head down so she can look Regina directly in the eyes. Regina's response is to turn her face aside and squeeze her eyes shut.

"Okay, fine, don't look at me. Just...just listen to what I'm trying to say. I'm not always the best at talking about my feelings, but just hear me out, okay? Can you do that?"

Regina nods.

"Okay, thanks. Umm...damn, where do I even begin? Look, right now, you're going through a lot, and it's perfectly natural to do something impulsive when you're overwhelmed by feelings and all that. Trust me, I've done much more damagingly impulsive things than telling someone I loved them." Regina snorts through her tears. "And I just don't want you to wake up one morning when you're feeling better and decide this is all something you regret. I don't...I don't want you to regret _me_. I care about you too much for that - I don't want to lose you, ever."

"Emma," Regina whispers, finally opening her eyes to look into Emma's. "What I said wasn't...well, saying it was impulsive, but I've felt that way for a while. It's okay if you don't feel the same," she adds with a sniffle. "I know I don't deserve you, and-"

"Will you cut it out with the 'I don't deserve you' crap?" Emma asks angrily.

Regina recoils like she's been slapped, and Emma kicks herself, remembering the other girls' current state of mind and why they're in the bathroom in the first place. "I...I'm sorry," she weeps. "I didn't mean to upset you. Please don't be angry."

"No, Regina, I'm - I'm not mad at you. I'm so sorry for yelling. I'm just mad that you would _ever_ think you don't deserve to be loved, because you do. You deserve all the love in the world."

"Mother...Mother says..."

"I don't give a shit about her. I mean, I'm sorry for your loss," Emma amends quickly, "but every bit of supposed wisdom she's given you is complete crap. Love is weakness? Really?"

"She said that no one would ever find me worth loving in return because I'm-"

"I'm going to stop you right there," Emma cuts in, feeling sick to her stomach. She holds a completely wooden Regina protectively against her chest and asks desperately, "Please tell me you don't actually believe any of her bullshit?"

"I-"

"Because I want you to forget about all of that right this second, and only listen to the things that I've said about you. Remember? You're beautiful and smart and strong and brilliant and funny and sweet and perfect in every single way, and I'm going to tell you that every day for the rest of your life until you believe it." She smiles as Regina's body slowly starts to relax against her. "I promise."

"Be careful," Regina sniffles, a small smile beginning to form on her face, "I might start to get a horrible ego if you keep saying that."

"Good," Emma whispers and nuzzles Regina's forehead with her own. "You deserve to have a big ego. You also deserve to make some impulsive decisions in the next couple of weeks if that's what you need."

"Thanks."

"You want to know something crazy?" Emma suddenly asks. Without waiting for an answer, she informs Regina, "You're the first person who's ever said 'I love you' to me."

"Really?" Emma is impressed at how expressive Regina's eyes are as they flash through horror, sadness, and then excitement in a matter of mere seconds. "Well, you know...I think I deserve a kiss for that."

"Yeah, I guess you do," Emma chuckles. They exchange a few soft, almost shy kisses before the bell rings and Regina groans.

"We should probably get to class," she says, sounding horribly disappointed.

"You're the one who insisted on coming to school today," Emma points out. "We could have been in M&amp;M's apartment kissing all day."

Rolling her eyes, Regina reaches out to grab hold of Emma's hand, but she hisses in pain when she tries to move her fingers.

"Let me see that." Emma gently lifts the injured hand up to take a better look at it. "There's some glass embedded in your skin," she observes, "and I'm pretty sure this finger is broken."

"I'm fine. Let's go."

"No, wait, I can fix it!" She hovers her other hand above Regina's and squeezes her eyes shut. This time, it doesn't take long at all to focus her magic. She just thinks about Regina saying "I love you," and white light bursts out of her fingertips. "Cool."

"Good as new," Regina grins, wiggling her fingers. "Nice job."

"Only the best for you, milady" Emma teases, drawing Regina's newly healed fingers to her lips. "Can't have one hand any less perfect than the rest of you."

"Alright, let's go," Regina says, doing her best to appear exasperated. "My m...well, anyway, I don't want to be marked tardy."

xx

The two girls enter math class only a minute late, hand-in-hand. Nobody comments, even the notoriously obnoxious kids, and Emma vaguely wonders if Mary Margaret threatened them - withholding pie at the next review session might be an effective deterrent. When they sit down, Henry turns around and lightly squeezes Regina's forearm. He doesn't say anything; he doesn't have to.

Mary Margaret passes out the quizzes right away. Emma watches as Regina and Henry quickly fill out all their answers, probably one hundred percent correct, but she can't concentrate. Her paper is still almost blank when their time is up, and Mary Margaret gives her a concerned and somewhat disappointed look when she hands it in. Emma just shrugs. Honestly, she's a little disappointed in herself: Regina can still concentrate on schoolwork, and she's the one whose mom is dead.

The rest of their classes that morning go similarly in that very few people comment on yesterday's events or Regina and Emma's increased physical proximity. In fact, very few people speak to Regina at all. At first, Emma is a little annoyed about it, but she realizes that they probably have no idea what to say, and, given Regina's slightly unpredictable emotional state at the moment, it might be safer to say nothing.

The first person who actually attempts to offer condolences is Locksley, but Regina brushes him aside. Later, when Emma's arm is around her shoulder, she awkwardly half-apologizes to the gym teacher. He doesn't seem to mind. For the rest of P.E., Emma stands behind Regina, arms wrapped protectively around her waist. She doesn't shoot a single arrow. When Regina comments that their lack of participation could affect their grade, Emma wordlessly holds her closer and sways their bodies back and forth. She doesn't know if it's actually helping, but she does know that the second she breaks contact so they can walk to Theory of Magic, Regina starts having what she assumes must be a panic attack.

"Emma, no! Emma, I can't go. Please don't make me go. Please, I can't see Gold today," she cries.

"What? It's okay, you don't have to." Emma attempts to make her voice sound calm and soothing, but she's not very successful at it. "You can cut class. No one will care."

"No! Gold will tell Mother, and then she'll-" suddenly, Regina realizes what she just said and starts weeping and rocking back and forth on her heels.

"Oh, good lord," Emma sighs, noting that she sounds a whole lot like Mary Margaret. Even so, there's not much she can say that will make this situation any better. "Regina, I think if your mother was here, she wouldn't mind you skipping Gold's class today."

"Yes, she would. It's weakness, and I can't show weakness. She would be so angry if she saw me like this. Emma, I have to-"

"Regina, stop," Emma directs. "Breathe. Just...take a deep breath." Regina slowly obeys. "Okay, good. Now another. Keep doing that."

As Regina gradually starts to calm down, Emma tries to figure out what to do next. Thankfully, someone else makes that decision for her. "Hello, girls," says Dr. Hopper. "Is everything okay?"

Regina says yes at the same time that Emma says no.

"Regina, I've been meaning to talk to you about some things. Why don't you follow me to my office?" Dr. Hopper says, his eyes understanding. "Emma, you should get to class."

Neither the shrink nor Emma can miss the panic-stricken look in Regina's eyes at the thought of being separated from the person whose touch seems to be the only thing keeping her grounded.

"Regina, it's okay," Emma says desperately. "Go with Dr. Hopper. He can excuse you from class, and it might really help you to talk to him. I'll see you in one hour. I promise."

Regina squeezes her eyes shut and clutches Emma's hand. For a moment, the blonde is legitimately afraid she might refuse to go to the counselor's office, but in the end she takes a deep breath and follows Dr. Hopper.

"One hour, right?" she asks Emma.

"I'll meet you right outside Hopper's door."

xx

With Regina in Dr. Hopper's office, Tink quitting class, and Zelena god-knows-where, Emma finds herself the only student in Theory of Magic, much to her chagrin.

"Good day, Miss Swan," Gold says, raising one eyebrow. "It would seem that you're the only student in class today."

"Yes, well, that is a natural function of being the only one whose mother you didn't murder."

"I did not kill Cora," Gold exclaims with such ferocity that Emma is taken aback. "Mother Superior," he continues more calmly, "was responsible for the particular fairy dust enchantment responsible for her demise, and she neglected to inform any of the rest of us about its...unwanted price."

"I don't know," Emma say slowly. Her gut tells her he's telling the truth, but something about the story doesn't add up. "You were pretty insistent that Regina had to put her heart back in. If you didn't want her dead, then what was up with that."

"My reasons for wanting Cora's heart back in her chest are my own," Gold hisses. "And, given that she's now dead, they no longer matter."

"So, you're sure you weren't trying to manipulate Regina and Zelena into killing their own mother? Because that's what it looks like to me."

"While you seem to believe the very worst of me, Miss Swan, I can assure you that, since I never intended for Cora to die, I never intended to make her daughters kill her. Now, would you like to continue throwing around baseless accusations, or can we resume your training?"

"Let's train."

"Excellent. I'm actually very glad we're alone today, because there is a very important topic I would like to discuss with you."

"What's that?" Emma asks suspiciously.

"I understand you are able to perform healing magic."

"I've done it once or twice."

"Healing is a very powerful brand of magic," Gold explains. "Self-healing, which I was attempting to teach Regina, is fairly straightforward, mostly just transferring your energies between different parts of the body. Find where there's an abundance, send it where there's a lack. It's like socialism."

Emma snorts. "Right, because that's straightforward."

"As far as magic goes, it is. Now, healing another is an entirely different skill, because you not only have to harness your energy, you have to harness theirs, too. It takes great power and great focus. People train for years to be able to do what you did for Regina."

"But I didn't train at all."

"As I am well aware. There are two possible explanations for that," he continues. "The first is that you have an incredible amount of raw power and skill, which I don't doubt. I've seen you master spells very quickly with little effort." She'd like to protest the "little effort" comment, but he's not wrong. "The second is that sometimes when two people have some kind of...special connection, they can make magic together that is much more powerful than either can create on their own."

"So, which is it?"

"That's what we're going to find out today." Gold almost sounds excited. "Today, you're going to practice healing me."

Emma sighs. She feels like Gold's own personal science experiment. He takes a strange, twisted dagger out of his pocket (_What the hell is that? _she screams in her head.) and makes a tiny cut on his finger. Emma hopes there are magical sterilization techniques available.

"We'll start with small wounds," he says gleefully. Emma rolls her eyes. She doesn't want to heal Gold; she'd really like to do the opposite to him. It's going to be a long class.

xx

"Emma, there's something we have to talk about," Regina says uncomfortably. The school day from hell is finally over, and they're sitting on a bench on the sidewalk in front of Mary Margaret's building, waiting for Regina's father to arrive. His flight landed in Boston four hours before, so he should be getting into Storybrooke shortly.

From everything Regina has said about her father so far, it seems like they have (had) a pretty good relationship, so Emma is confused about why the other girl has been getting progressively more nervous as the minutes tick by.

"Regina, are you okay?" she finally asks.

"Of course I'm okay," Regina shoots back. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Only because every time you say that, it means you're not okay at all," Emma points out. "Are you worried about seeing your dad."

"No," says Regina, sullenly staring at her hands.

"Why?"

"Emma...there's something we need to discuss." Regina nervously fidgets with her ring and avoids meeting the blonde's curious eyes.

"Um, okay. Should I be worried?"

"No, it's just...you and me, in the last few days, we've been kind of..."

"All over each other?" Emma guesses.

"Yes. Well, it's more like I've been all over you. I know you've said you feel the same way, but obviously I've been the one initiating and-"

"You're regretting it already?" Emma asks quietly.

"No! Of course not! I mean, as long as you don't."

"I don't. If...if that's what you're worried about. You never have to doubt how I feel about you. I've literally been head-over-heels for you from day one, I just didn't know-"

"It's not that either. I believe you, and I'm actually...grateful, I guess, that you're letting me control the pace of this...whatever we have going on here."

"Okay," says Emma, growing more and more concerned. If none of those things are the problem, then it must be something even bigger.

"My dad is coming here today," Regina says quietly. "I haven't seen him in two years."

"Okay."

"Emma, he doesn't know I'm gay," Regina finally blurts out.

"Oh," Emma breathes a sigh of relief. "I thought it was going to be something really massive, like - oh, God, Regina, this is something really massive for you, isn't it? I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"It's not...that, exactly," Regina clarifies. "It's just, he doesn't know anything. Everything that's happened over the past two years...I didn't tell him about any of it."

Emma inhales deeply and raises her eyebrows. She assumes "everything" refers to her mother's abuse and the entire situation with Dani, her issues with Zelena...probably more things that she doesn't even know about yet. Shit.

"Why not?" she asks. "He could have helped you."

Regina shakes her head sadly. "He couldn't have. He just would have felt guilty about it." _Maybe he should feel guilty_, Emma thinks, but she keeps that to herself. "Besides, it was nice to talk to him and just pretend everything was normal."

"So, are you going to tell him?"

"About being gay? About...us? Is there an us?"

"I think there's an us. I would like there to be."

Regina smiles. "Me too. But, I don't know if this is the best time. I think...I think he would be okay with it," she says uncertainly. "At the very least, he'll probably take it better than Mother did."

"It'd be hard to take it any worse."

"I want to tell him. I just...there's a lot going on right now."

"With your mom?"

"Her, Zelena, everything."

"You seem to be handling it pretty well, all things considered."

"Thank you. I talked about it with Dr. Hopper while you were in class. It helped."

"Good," Emma says, reaching out to pat Regina's shoulder. "I'm glad. Are you going to tell your dad about it?"

"What am I going to tell him?" Regina whispers, sounding dangerously close to tears again.

"Ten bucks says that if you don't, Mary Margaret will. She sounded pissed at him on the phone."

"I hope Mary Margaret has learned her lesson about telling secrets to my parents."

Emma shrugs and pulls Regina into her arms, softly resting her chin on the brunette's shoulder. "Well, you know we're both here for you, always, right? Even if you still hate her."

"I know."

Regina relaxes against Emma's body and sighs deeply. "I do want to tell him about us," she admits. "I want to tell him about the happy things. I just don't know how to do it."

"Well, if he shows up and we look like this, I think he'll pick it up on his own pretty quickly."

"Maybe that's not the best idea."

"Yeah, you should be the one to choose when to tell him," Emma agrees. "So, I guess this means no cuddling while Daddy Dearest is in town?"

"Yes, unfortunately," Regina sighs, reluctantly extracting herself from Emma's arms. "We'll see how long that actually lasts."

xx

Emma's first observation upon seeing Henry Mills is that he's short, at least two inches shorter than his ex-wife. She always figured he must not be very tall, because Regina is tiny compared to her mother, but it's still a little surprising to see in person.

Her second observation is that he's very quiet. Meek, even. He seems terrified of both Mary Margaret and his own daughter. She wonders how he managed to stand up to Cora for long enough to file for divorce. She now understands why Regina thought he wouldn't be able to help her with any of her problems.

"Hi, angel," he says softly, pulling Regina in for a tentative hug. She's stiff as a board against him, making no effort to return the embrace. "I missed you so much."

_Then you shouldn't have moved to China_, thinks Emma. It appears that Regina might be having the same thought, because she suddenly wriggles out of his arms and sprints upstairs into Mary Margaret's apartment.

He starts sputtering something about not understanding, and Mary Margaret starts lecturing him about the fact that he hasn't seen his daughter in two whole years, and Emma doesn't hear much of it because she's running up the stairs two at a time to try and catch up to Regina.

She hears a loud crash and the sound of glass shattering, and by the time she gets into the apartment, Regina is sitting numbly on the edge of the tub, the mirror in a thousand tiny pieces on the ground.

"I guess now would be the time to tell you that you were right about throwing heavy objects," Regina mutters, gesturing to the shampoo bottle among the wreckage. "I think Mary Margaret's going to kill me."

"Nah," Emma disagrees, trying to sound reassuring. "She hated that mirror anyway - said it was warped and made everyone look fat."

"I'll clean up. Do you know where she keeps the broom? And I'll buy her a new mirror - I have enough money saved."

"Regina, seriously, I don't think she'll care about the mirror. Much. But I think you really need to talk to your dad. Not about us, necessarily, but definitely about your mom."

"Yes, because that's going to help so many people. She's dead, and even if she was alive, it's not like he could have done anything about it. You can't rewrite the past; I learned that lesson when I put my mother's heart back in and she dropped dead."

Yet again, Emma doesn't know what to say, so she settles for sitting beside Regina on the tub and giving her a hug. If her dad has a problem with it, she's ready to fight him.


	17. Crushed Hearts

**A/N: **This chapter is a little sad, and I'm sorry about it.

**Chapter 17: Crushed Hearts**

"So, what have I missed in good old Storybrooke over the past two years?" Mr. Mills is asking. He and Regina are sitting awkwardly on the couch together, while Emma and Mary Margaret are pretending to clean the bathroom but mainly eavesdropping. Mary Margaret had practically shoved Regina out the door, insisting that she and Emma would take care sweeping up the broken glass.

Regina doesn't reply.

"Obviously, you got more beautiful," he tries to joke, his daughter's silence clearly causing him a fair amount of discomfort. "Anything else I should know about? Are you still riding?"

"No."

Mary Margaret looks like she's about to blow a gasket, and Emma doesn't blame her. She hopes and prays that Mr. Mills does not ask the question she knows is coming next.

"Why not? You were so good at it."

"I just didn't want to anymore," Regina mutters.

Her dad sounds so confused. "But that's...that's all you wanted to do, for your whole life. I remember when-"

"Just drop it, Daddy!" Regina snaps. "I developed other interests, okay?"

"Oh, okay. So what have you been doing these days?"

"Why are you asking me about my hobbies?" Regina practically shrieks. "Mother is dead!"

"Regina, I was-"

"I don't want to hear it!" From behind the bathroom door, Emma and Mary Margaret can hear Regina jump up from the couch and run from the apartment, slamming the door behind her. Mary Margaret sighs and slowly pushes open the bathroom door.

"I...I don't know what happened," Mr. Mills sputters.

Emma half-expects Mary Margaret to start yelling at him, but instead she just looks sad. "You left her alone with Cora for two years," she says quietly. "What do you think happened?"

xx

Cora's funeral is a quiet affair. There are none of the typical eulogies Emma would have expected. Graham's father, Sheriff Humbert, says a few words about some of Cora's accomplishments as mayor. One of the nuns performs the service - Mother Superior is nowhere to be seen - but it's not even religious. No one in Storybrooke seems to practice any religion; Emma wonders why they have nuns. She wonders why her mind always decides to ask the big questions at the most inappropriate times.

Regina stands with Zelena, and both are stone-faced and silent. Dr. Hopper had suggested that Regina say a few words about her mother, but she turned him down. She hasn't said more than a few words to anyone since running out on her father the night before. She'd returned to Mary Margaret's apartment after a few hours and silently fallen asleep on the couch. Her father had gotten a room at Granny's Bed and Breakfast. As far as Emma knows, no one has even stepped foot in the mayoral mansion since the three of them had retrieved Cora's heart - Regina is dressed in Emma's best sweater and a pencil skirt borrowed from Mary Margaret because she'd had a full-blown panic attack when she'd tried to go into the house to get an outfit of her own.

Emma stands next to Mary Margaret, who is openly weeping. She's the only one, and Emma knows it's about memories of her own mother, not about Cora. She wonders what that says about the mayor, that no one's even crying at her funeral. She awkwardly rubs Mary Margaret's back, and her foster mother gives her a grateful smile through her tears.

Dr. Hopper place a hand on Regina's shoulder and motions for her to take the shovel Sheriff Humbert is offering her. Regina nods to Zelena, and the two girls take turns shoveling dirt on their mother's grave. Zelena is incredibly forceful about the whole process, like she's taking out her rage on the shovel. After everything she put them through, Emma still can't bring herself to care the older girl, but she can't imagine the pain of finding the mother who gave her up so many years ago, discovering she's evil, and then watching her die at the exact moment she develops the potential to change. It's almost enough to make her feel sorry for Zelena.

But then she sees the carefully hidden despair in Regina's dark and turbulent eyes, and she stops caring about Zelena's pain entirely. She's fairly certain it's nothing compared to her younger sister's.

Mr. Mills reaches out to comfort his daughter, but she pushes him away.

xx

Regina doesn't go to school the day after the funeral. Her dad doesn't let her, and Mary Margaret steps in to support him. The two adults had spoken on the phone for several hours the night before, while Regina slept and Emma tried to, probably planning a battle strategy. Emma privately agrees with them; Regina obviously doesn't have the emotional energy to deal with school right now, and she really needs some alone time to talk with her dad. What concerns her is the fact that Regina doesn't fight against it.

When Emma returns at the end of the day, she finds the brunette sitting with her father on the same bench where they'd awaited his arrival. He has one arm around her waist, and her head is resting lightly against his shoulder in a comfortable way that, along with the tear stains streaking Regina's cheeks, tells Emma they've definitely talked an come to some kind of understanding. She tries to sneak into the apartment without being seen - she almost doesn't want to interrupt this long-awaited moment of father-daughter bonding.

When Emma comes into sight, Regina immediately jumps up and pulls her into the alley between Mary Margaret's building and the diner. "Emma, can we talk?" she asks nervously, chewing at her lower lip. Her previous expression of serenity is gone.

"I...um, okay," Emma says slowly. "Is it bad? Your face is making it seem kind of bad."

"Maybe." Regina stares at fidgeting hands, unable to meet Emma's gaze, and the blonde is starting to get nervous. "Come with me, please."

Emma wordlessly follows Regina down the street and onto a path in the woods, growing more and more apprehensive the further they walk. In a horror movie, this scene would end in a brutal murder. The hike seems to go on forever until Regina finally stops them at the edge of a beautiful meadow that slowly descends into a hill overlooking horse pastures. The sun is shining on green grass and the few wildflowers that are still around in the early autumn. It's beautiful, but Emma can't appreciate it because she still has no idea what's going on and it scares her.

"So, what's up?" she asks, hoping she sounds casual.

Regina sits down on a fallen log and motions for Emma to sit beside her. "This place is called Firefly Hill," she explains, lose in her own thoughts. She picks up a dandelion and lightly blows on it, scattering its fluffy seeds across the meadow.

"It's a nice place," remarks Emma.

"Dani and I used to ride here together," Regina says softly. "It was our special place. I come here sometimes when I want to remember her."

"Okay," Emma whispers in confusion. She's flattered Regina apparently trusts her enough to show her this place, but she doesn't understand why _now._

"Emma, I'm..." the brunette's eyes fill with tears, and she struggles to regain her composure. "I have to leave Storybrooke," she finally chokes out.

"You have to what now?"

"It's my dad. He wants me to live with him, and Emma, I think I have to."

Dazed, Emma tries to compose her thoughts into a form she can say aloud. "You don't have to," she argues, aware even as the words come out of her mouth that they're not particularly helpful. "You can stay here and get someone else to be your legal guardian; I'm sure someone would agree to it - maybe Dr. Hopper? Or you could get a court to emancipate you and-"

"Emma," Regina breathes, reaching out for the blonde's shaking hands. Her voice is thick with pain, and she can't lift her head to make eye contact. "Emma, I don't _want_ to stay in Storybrooke."

"You - you don't?" Emma stutters. "But you said-"

"I know. I know what I said, and it was true then, but now...things are different now."

Regina sighs heavily, and Emma nods. She understands - not everything, obviously, but enough. Still, that doesn't make it feel any better. "So you're going to Shanghai?" She knows her voice sounds hurt and angry, and it's not at all fair to Regina, but she can't control it.

"Not right away," Regina explains. "We have to wait and see if I can get a Visa, or his company will have to transfer him. China's not exactly the easiest country to relocate to."

Emma breathes a sigh of relief. "Okay, so you're not leaving right away?" she asks. If there's a waiting period, it might be enough time to make Regina change her mind. Which, actually, shouldn't be too hard - if she thought Boston was a big and overwhelming city, Shanghai will probably destroy her.

"Actually, I am. I'm leaving tomorrow. We're going on a trip together, and...Emma, please don't be upset. I just have to be with my dad right now, and - and I can't be here."

Emma bites her lower lip so hard she's almost afraid she's going to draw blood, but she doesn't really care. "I'm not upset," she insists.

"Yes, you are. I'm so sorry, Emma."

"No, you don't have to be sorry," Emma chokes out. "I understand, really. It's just - I'm going to miss you."

"I know," Regina says softly. "I'll miss you, too. So much. I've only known you a month, but I can't even imagine life without you anymore."

"So don't go," Emma whispers desperately.

"I have to." Tears leaking from her eyes at a rapidly increasing rate, she gently extracts one of her hands one of her hands from Emma's and reaches up to caress the blonde's cheek so lovingly that it makes everything hurt even worse. "I promise it won't be forever, but this is something I have to do. I'm so sorry. I love you."

She leans forward like she's going in for a kiss, but Emma is so overwhelmed with emotion she's afraid of bursting into tears and getting snot all over Regina's beautiful face, so she runs away instead. _You're terrible at this_, she scolds herself as she runs through the woods_. Regina deserves someone better anyway._

xx

When Mary Margaret comes downstairs, Emma is curled up in a ball on the sofa, cursing her foolishness and even her own existence. She knows she has no right to be angry at Regina, that this is in no way, shape, or form a personal rejection. She knows that Regina is in pain that she can't even imagine and the reasons for that have nothing to do with her, and she understands that this feels like the right thing to do. But none of this understanding lessens the feeling that someone has plunged a hand into her chest and is successfully crushing her heart.

"Emma, is something wrong?" her foster mother asks in a concerned tone, immediately sitting next to her.

"Don't worry about it," Emma mutters. Mary Margaret looks really dressed up, and she's wearing makeup. She's almost pissed that anyone can think of doing something fun at a time like this, but she knows that's not fair, just like her anger at Regina isn't fair. Mary Margaret deserves to be happy. "You going somewhere special?" she asks.

"Nowhere important. Tell me - what's going on?"

Emma sighs. "I don't want to talk about it. Just go on your date, or whatever it is you're dressed up for. I'll be fine."

Mary Margaret responds to the direction to leave by settling more comfortably into the couch. "My date's not for half an hour; I have plenty of time to talk. This is about Regina, isn't it?"

"She has to go live with her dad...sort of," Emma finally admits. "I mean, they don't know if she can, because of China and government regulations and Visas and all that, but she's leaving."

"Her dad wants to take her out of Storybrooke; he feels really guilty for leaving her here with her mom in the first place," Mary Margaret explains sadly. "But he won't do it if she doesn't want to go."

"That's the problem. She does want to go." Emma shakes her head and tries to swallow the lump in her throat. "And I get it, you know, it's just...I don't know. It's hard to imagine being here without her. We always do everything together."

"You really love her, don't you?" Mary Margaret asks, sympathetically rubbing Emma's back.

Emma's eyes fill with tears, and she allows herself inch closer to Mary Margaret and finally accept the woman's mothering. "I don't know. I've never felt this way about anyone before. I feel like she's my other half, or something. She's my best friend, and I just...I just want to hold her all the time and make her smile and listen to her voice and-"

"You love her," Mary Margaret says like it's the simplest thing in the world. "So tell her."

"Why would I tell her that now? She's leaving."

"If you tell her, maybe she'll stay."

"What? No way. Even if she would, I couldn't ask her to do that. It's too painful for her here. I want her to be happy, even if it's without me."

Mary Margaret shrugs. "Suit yourself, but I think she'll be about as happy without you as you'll be without her. You'll see: people who are meant to be together will always find a way."

"You're just turning into a gushy romantic because you have a boyfriend now," Emma protests.

"David isn't my boyfriend."

"Yet."

"He _just_ got divorced," Mary Margaret says, her cheeks turning a very revealing shade of pink. "And I'm...busy."

"Whatever, M&amp;M," Emma groans. "Just go on your date and enjoy your new love. Someone should."

"It's not exactly 'new' love," Mary Margaret mumbles. Clearing her throat, she turns worried eyes back to Emma. "Are you sure you'll be okay? I can cancel if-"

"Go!"

Once she's forced Mary Margaret out the door, Emma returns to the sofa and finally allows her tears to spill out. She'd love to believe her foster mother's words - people meant to be together will find a way - but they don't exactly make her happy. If she and Regina can't find a way, that would have to mean they're not meant for each other, and that's a thought she just can't face.

And she hates herself because she didn't realize it until it was too late.

xx

Regina and her dad leave the next morning. Mary Margaret drags Emma out of bed early even though it's a Saturday and takes her to the mayoral mansion to help Regina pack. When she tentatively opens the door to the only bedroom in the house that looks like it has an actual human inhabitant - an extremely neat human, but still one with a bit of personality - she sees Regina standing over an empty suitcase. The brunette has dark circles under her eyes like she hasn't slept at all.

"Hey," Emma says quietly, "you need any help?"

Clenching her jaw and forcing her features into a sullen glare, Regina shakes her head.

Emma shrugs and lets herself into the room anyway. Regina's room is full of books, and the lavender walls are covered with paintings of horses racing through fields. There's an old and obviously much loved stuffed horse resting on her pillow. She understands why Regina's dad might have been surprised that she stopped riding.

Emma takes a deep breath and blurts out, "I'm really sorry about yesterday. I shouldn't have run away like that."

She expects Regina to reply angrily, but instead the other girl stares at her feet and mumbles, "Is that what you think I'm doing? Running away?"

"What? No, of course not."

"But I am. That is literally exactly what I'm doing right now."

"Everyone runs away sometimes," Emma says understandingly. "It doesn't make you a bad person. Sometimes you just have to."

Regina finally looks her in the eyes. "Emma, what do you even see in me?" she asks sadly.

"I could probably ask you the same thing. You're all torn up about running away, and that's my M.O. about ninety percent of the time."

"I can't be the same thing to you that you are to me. I'm just too...I don't know. Everything's a mess and I'm not ready for it."

"But you want to be," Emma argues. "And that's more than enough for me. I don't need anything more than what you've got right now. Maybe you're not meeting your own standards, but you're perfect for me."

"I don't want you to wait for me to be ready," Regina whispers. "I want you to be with someone worthy of you, not someday, but now."

Emma rolls her eyes. "Did you not hear anything I just said?" she demands. "Okay, you know what? I don't want to start an argument right now. You know how I feel, and I _will_ wait as long as I have to."

"Kiss me goodbye?" Regina asks shyly.

Emma doesn't have to be asked twice. She roughly grabs the back of Regina's head and brings their lips crashing together. The brunette seems surprised for a second by the force of it, but she quickly reciprocates and tugs Emma's body closer until they're flush against each other, and her nails are digging into the blonde's back like she's afraid to let her go. Emma hears a soft whimper and she's not sure which one of them it's coming from, but she knows she's the one who moans when she finally forces herself to pull away.

"I love you, Regina," she rasps.

Regina responds by pressing her lips against Emma's one more time and running longing fingers over every inch of her abdomen until her father calls from downstairs that they need to get on the road, and she looks sadly at her empty suitcase and shoves a haphazard pile of clothes and her stuffed horse into it. "I love you so much," she whispers, "and I'm so sorry."

Emma watches the car until it disappears into the distance, fingers lightly stroking her lips, where she can still feel Regina on them. It's raining, which feels appropriately cliché, and Emma lets herself get drenched as she wanders through the woods for hours before she ends up at the Toll Bridge and throws rock after rock until she can barely feel her arm anymore.


	18. Kansas

**A/N**: I'm sorry this update took a little while. I've been super busy with work and had a tiny bit of writer's block. I'm not completely thrilled with this chapter, but I decided to just bite the bullet and post it (because apparently people were worried the story was over - DON'T PANIC: there will be a happy ending!). Thanks for being patient!

The italicized portions are emails between Emma and Regina. I promise they won't be separated for too much longer.

xx

**Chapter 18: Kansas**

_Dear Emma,_

_I know you perpetually leave your social media pages open when you're not actually online, so there's a 90% chance Miss Blanchard will actually be the one reading this, but I miss you so much I had to try. (Miss Blanchard, if you're reading this, could you please tell Emma to check her inbox, and maybe buy her a cell phone? Thanks.)_

_My dad and I are in New York City, which I suppose you already know is a very different place from Storybrooke. We've been doing a lot of really touristy things and eating large quantities of Italian food. I guess you could say it's a lot of fun; I'm glad to be spending time with him again after so long apart, but sometimes it seems like we hardly know each other anymore. I'm trying to talk to him like you suggested, but it's been difficult. He's trying so hard to be there for me, but every time I try to let him in, the words just won't come out. It turns out I don't know how to talk to anyone except you._

_This is starting to get a bit long, and I don't know if you're even reading it, so I'll just finish by saying once again that I miss you. I miss you, and I love you. And I'm so sorry._

_Love,_

_Regina_

xx

"If she misses me so much, she could just come back to Storybrooke," Emma grumbles, furiously crushing Cheerios with her spoon.

"Emma, you know it's not that simple," Mary Margaret says gently from across the counter. "Regina has a lot of demons here that have nothing to do with you. And given your past attitude toward Storybrooke, I'm surprised you're the one advocating for her immediate return."

Emma groans. "I know; I'm being selfish. I just miss her."

"I know, sweetie. I miss her, too."

"Really? You miss her glaring at you all the time? "

"Well, maybe not the glaring, but I do miss her, and I miss how happy she made you. By the way, do you want any milk for that cereal, or are you not going to eat it?"

"Oh, right. This."

Without Regina, Storybrooke feels about as bleak and colorless to Emma as Kansas in _The Wizard of Oz._ Her days pass by slowly, and she feels like she's just going through the motions. Graham and Ruby invite her to hang out multiple times, but she mostly ignores them. She gets a C on her English paper, mostly because Miss French is understanding and charitable and surprised that she managed to turn in anything at all. (She sees Regina's paper, which she had completed a week ahead of the deadline, poking out from the bottom of the pile, A+ written in red ink on the top, and feels even worse about herself.)

In Pre-Calc, Emma carefully avoids looking at the empty desk next to her, almost as if she's afraid that Regina's ghost is going to pop out at her if she makes eye-contact. _Idiot, _she thinks angrily, _it's not like she's dead._

Mary Margaret keeps assigning group work. The first time, Henry smiles at Emma and squeezes her hand, whispering that it's going to be okay and Regina will come back soon. The second time, he has to scold her to pay attention every five seconds. The third time, he just rolls his eyes and mutters, "I miss Regina. She was really good at helping disguise how useless you are."

Then he sees the hurt in her eyes and quickly backtracks. "I mean, without her, you're kind of useless, just because you miss her so much."

"It's okay, I get it," Emma says in a monotone, staring at her notebook. "We have to use the quadratic function here, right?"

The worst is magic class. Zelena is back in school, but she refuses to set foot in Gold's classroom or even speak to him, and Emma hears through the grapevine (Henry) that Tinkerbell quit studying magic for good after she found out about Mother Superior's role in Cora's death. So, Emma continues to be alone with the teacher who still vaguely gives her the creeps. At least Zelena's not there to comment on her numerous failed attempts at healing magic.

At any kind of magic.

She can't even light a fire anymore.

"And I had such high hopes for you, dearie," Gold says, shaking his head sadly. "You had so much potential. What happened?"

Emma shrugs uncomfortably. "I don't know. Maybe my powers just disappeared. That can happen, right? And stop calling me dearie."

"No, dearie, your powers can't just disappear," he scowls. "You're born with them; they're in your blood, but something's blocking them from coming to the surface."

"Well, there you go. That's what happened," Emma snaps. "Now that we've established that, may I be dismissed from class?"

"We haven't established anything. I don't know what's holding you back, and that's a question only you can answer."

_What's holding you back?_

"I don't know," she admits.

"Well, you're probably not going to figure it out standing in this room. I suppose today's lesson is finished - you may go to study hall, Miss Swan."

xx

_Dear Regina,_

_I'm horrible at writing (which you already know, because you've read my English essays), but for you, I'll try it. I'm glad the outside world is treating you well - maybe when you come back you could bring a slice of New York pizza for me? (You are coming back, right?) Storybrooke is Storybrooke. I still suck at archery. Mostly, I just wish you were here._

_Love,_

_Emma_

_PS: Henry from math class says hi. Without you, he has to do all the work for our group (Also, I think he just misses you)._

_PPS: I will ask M&amp;M about the phone._

_PPPS: You don't have to apologize to me all the time, and don't worry so much about talking to your dad. It will happen when you're ready. Just focus on having a good time. You deserve it._

xx

She doesn't ask Mary Margaret about the phone. The last time she'd asked a foster family about using their phone, she'd gotten a long lecture about how much extra time and money she was costing them and how she should be grateful for what she got. She's almost certain Mary Margaret would have a slightly better reaction, but still, she's learned her lesson about asking for things. And Mary Margaret has been so good to her that she doesn't want to mess anything up.

She may be messing things up anyway.

"Emma, I'm a little worried about you," her foster mother says one night, holding up Emma's make-up Pre-Calc quiz that's only about five points better than the original. "I know math isn't your best subject, but I also know that you know how to solve these problems because I've seen you do it before. What's holding you back?"

_What's holding you back?_

There it is, that same question, and once again she has no idea how to answer.

"Like you said, math isn't my best subject," Emma mumbles. "And I'm not great at taking tests."

"I know that's not true, because up until a week ago, you were averaging As and Bs in all your classes, but now I've heard from all of your teacher's that you're falling behind and seem a lot more antisocial and withdrawn. What's going on?"

"Nothing's going on. Maybe this is just my true personality coming through."

"I see," Mary Margaret says slowly, nodding like she doesn't believe a word coming out of Emma's mouth. "So, what I think I'm hearing you say is that the Emma we're seeing now is the real you, and the last six weeks was just an act. Is that correct?"

Emma stares at her feet. "Pretty much." It wasn't exactly an act, she reasons, but it was certainly a side of her personality she hadn't shown much in the past. A side brought out by the safety and comfort and_ love_ she'd found in Storybrooke that she'd never had anywhere else. Now that she's lost a major source of that, it stands to reason that she'd revert. At least that's what she tells herself.

"I think that's crap," Mary Margaret says almost angrily. "I think grief can change people. It can make you lose yourself, but that doesn't mean you can't be found again."

"Grief? What do you mean?" Emma argues, confused. "What do I possibly have to grieve for? I barely even knew Mayor Mills, except for her trying to kill me. She was Regina's mom, not mine. I don't even have one."

"Well, I think that's part of it. I think you've been grieving that loss your whole life, and it's even harder to overcome when you can't put a name on it, when you're missing something you never had in the first place. But, more than that, I think you're grieving for Regina."

"It's not like I lost Regina. She's been gone for less than a week, and she's coming back," Emma says defensively. "At least, I think she's coming back."

"I think so, too," Mary Margaret quickly reassures her. "But that doesn't mean you can't miss her. And you're worried about her. I think that when you care for someone so deeply, you can feel their pain and take it on as your own."

Emma nods, trying to fight back the tears that are inexplicably springing to her eyes. "I just...I just want her to be happy," she whispers.

"I know," says Mary Margaret. "And I hope that one day, she can be happy _and _here. In the meantime, though, I'm sure that she wants you to be happy, too."

"How do you suggest I do that?"

"In my experience, the first step is giving a name to the problem."

Emma exhales. She can do that, at least. "I miss Regina," she admits. "It's not the same here without her."

"She was your best friend," Mary Margaret observes. "Even more than your love, losing your best friend hurts."

"You have experience with that?" Emma asks, eyes widening in surprise.

Mary Margaret smiles sadly. "I've been a high school teacher for a while; kids confide in me. But," she adds, "people don't generally take this job because they had the time of their lives being teenagers."

"Please tell me adulthood is better," groans Emma. "It is, right? I need some hope."

"It can be, but honestly, it's mostly up to you. Life is full of circumstances we can't control, but we can control how we react to them. Hope is something you choose."

Emma wants to protest that it's easier for some people to choose hope than others, but then she remembers that Mary Margaret lost her mother when she was in high school, so she obviously knows a little bit about what she's talking about.

"Did you leave town for a while after your mom died?" she asks.

Mary Margaret sighs, and her eyes fill with such incredible sadness that Emma immediately wants to take her question back. "That would have been better," she says quietly.

"I'm sorry, M&amp;M," Emma says quickly. "I didn't mean to bring up anything painful."

"It's okay. I mean, I'm the one who started a conversation about grief. Just...I'll tell you about it someday. Now, let's focus on you."

"Right." Emma clears her throat and brings her mind back to the present. "What do you think I should do?"

"I think you should let me give you a hug and then go do something fun."

"You mean to take my mind off Regina?" Emma asks, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Of course not, I don't think that's even possible. But I think you have to realize that your worrying isn't going to make Regina better or bring her back to you any faster. She needs you, Emma, but what she needs is for you to believe in her. She's strong, she's resilient, and she needs a cheerleader, not a caregiver."

"I do believe in her," Emma protests. "And I know she's strong! She's the strongest person I've ever met, but I want to help her."

"I know, and you will help her. But first you have to take care of yourself, or how can you be in any position to support someone else?"

Emma gives her foster mother a small, sad smile and a hug. "You should be a therapist," she says. "Or, like, a mom. You give the best advice."

Her chin is resting on Mary Margaret's shoulder, so Emma can't see the way her foster mother's eyes fill with tears, but she does observe that the embrace grows tighter and it becomes slightly more difficult to breathe. She doesn't mind; it feels right.

That night, she goes to Granny's and plays darts with Graham after finishing most of her homework. She still feels a little empty, but she supposes she can continue living. She doesn't want Regina to return and think she's pathetic.

xx

_Dear Emma,_

_I read your message, and now I can't stop smiling because I could hear your voice reading it to me in my head. I don't think you're horrible at writing at all (although archery is a different story), but I wish so badly that I could hear your voice for real. I'm still having a good time in the "outside world," but I miss you so much that sometimes it hurts. I think my dad's original intent in taking this trip was "healing" me from the loss of my mother, but every moment away from you grows more and more painful. It's crazy to think sometimes that it wasn't even two months ago that I didn't know you existed, and now it's as though I need you to complete me. _

_I'm sorry if this comes off as desperate or needy._

_All my love,_

_Regina_

xx

"So, Mary Margaret," Emma begins, awkwardly wringing her hands. She _really_ doesn't want to ask. But this isn't exactly for her, she reminds herself. Regina needs to hear her voice, and for Regina she'd do anything. "There's something I was hoping to ask you about."

Mary Margaret looks up from her grading and beckons Emma to join her at the kitchen table. "Go right ahead," she says with a warm smile. "I actually had something I wanted to ask you about, too."

Emma sits down at the table, nervously tapping her foot. "Oh. Well, um...you first, then," she mumbles.

"No, you should ask first," insists Mary Margaret, dropping her red pen to give her foster daughter her full attention. "Is everything okay? You seem a little anxious."

"I'm fine, I just...would it be okay if I borrowed your phone? I mean, it's not a life necessity or anything, it's just..." Emma's voice trails off. She's sweating profusely and wondering if this was all a mistake.

"What?" Mary Margaret seems shocked. "Is that all?"

"I...yeah, that's all."

"You mean my cell phone, or the landline? Because you don't even have to ask about using the house phone: you live here - it's your phone, too."

Emma stares, wide-eyed, at the perfectly earnest woman across the table. "So, I can just use the phone whenever I want?"

"Of course! Emma, this isn't a prison. I have no desire to limit your contact with the outside world; I mean, I'd prefer if you didn't place too many hours-long overseas calls, but...did you really think I wouldn't let you use the phone?"

"No, I just...some of my past foster homes..." Emma mumbles under her breath, voice trailing off due to how stupid she feels. Mary Margaret reaches out to squeeze her hand.

"I'm sorry we never had this conversation before," she says softly. "Please tell me you weren't afraid to ask me."

"Well, I mean, to be fair, I didn't have too many people I wanted to call before," Emma says quickly. She knows she's rambling, but she can't stand to see the pity in Mary Margaret's eyes. "I was a bit of a loner before I moved here - still am, actually. It's just, you know, I want to call...someone."

"Regina?" Mary Margaret guesses with a small smile.

"So, what was it you were going to ask me?"

Now it's Mary Margaret's turn to start looking anxious.

"Well," the older woman begins slowly, so shakily that Emma is briefly worried she might faint on the spot, "it's interesting that you asked about using the phone, because I was thinking the other day that maybe I should see about getting you a cell phone of your own."

"You would do that?" Emma is floored. She's never had a phone of her own before; none of her past foster families would have even considered giving her something remotely valuable (or, for that matter, considered her valuable enough to spend money on).

"If you're going to be in a long-distance relationship, you're going to be spending more time on the phone; that's just a fact. Actually, if you're going to be in any relationship - Regina obviously isn't going to be gone indefinitely. Now, the question is, should I get you one of those flexible pay-as-you-go phones, or a long-term contract?"

"A long-term contract? As in..."

"Yeah, I was hoping that maybe, you know, you'd like to make this...this apartment...me..."

"Are you...are you asking what I think you're asking?" Emma squeaks, unsure if she's excited or elated or terrified or _what_. They're both fumbling for words, and she can see from the expression on Mary Margaret's face that the conversation is not going exactly as she'd planned it.

Mary Margaret takes a deep breath and looks Emma squarely in the eyes. "Emma, I've really enjoyed having you live here. I think that, what we've got going here, it works. You've helped me find something I didn't even realize I was missing, and I feel like I've seen you grow and blossom so much even in the short time you've been here. I think we could be happy together, and I'm asking if you'd like to stay here and be...and be a family."

_Yes! _screams Emma's brain. A home, a family...it's all she's ever wanted, and Mary Margaret is the best family she could have ever imagined for herself.

Unfortunately, her brain and her mouth seem to be momentarily disconnected.

"You mean you want to adopt me?" Her voice sounds frantic, like Mary Margaret just offered to give her the Black Plague instead of the one thing she's wanted since age three.

"Yes?"

Mary Margaret looks so scared, anticipating rejection or possibly worse, and Emma wants more than anything to dive into the woman's arms and call her "Mommy" and tell her that _of course_ she wants to stay and be a family forever.

Instead she bursts into tears and runs out the door.

xx

_Dear Regina,_

_No worries - your last message did not come across as desperate or needy at all, but this one is going to. Please send me your phone number ASAP (obviously I don't have it because I didn't have a phone before and Mary Margaret only has your house number). I really, really, REALLY need to talk to you about something really important, and I'm kind of freaking out. _

_I have no idea what I'm doing and I just really need you right now._

_Love you so much._

_Emma_

xx


	19. Lost and Found

**A/N: **I'm happy, and yet sad, to say that we're nearing the end of this fic. There will be one more chapter (possibly two) and most likely an epilogue after this one. I'm not going to make any promises about when they're coming, because for the next few weeks, my writing energies will be largely devoted to my students' report cards, but I promise to update this and my other in-progress story as much as I can. As always, thank you for reading and reviewing.

**Chapter 19: Lost and Found**

Emma wanders aimlessly for a while in the woods before finding herself at Firefly Hill just before dusk. She has somewhat bitter memories of her last visit to this place, but, gazing in awe as the setting sun casts a golden glow over the now-drying grass, she's grateful to Regina for showing her this glorious place even if they can't enjoy it together at the moment.

Of course, Regina and Dani can never enjoy it together again.

She wonders, not for the first time, what it means that Regina brought her here, that she let her share in this place and this person that obviously mean so much to her.

She thinks about Regina and Dani and Cora and hearts and grief, and she wonders again about her place in this town. She wonders how she can ever feel at home in a town full of fairies and werewolves and sorcery, even as she realizes that she already does. Somehow, against her better judgment and through no lack of effort to the contrary, she is already part of this madness.

Then, as she stares directly into the brilliant pink and orange flames slowly fading over the horizon, she thinks about Mary Margaret and she knows where her place is, but she wonders if she's already lost it for good.

xx

"Hello? Emma?" Regina says tentatively through the speaker. "It _is _you, right?"

Emma nearly bursts into tears of relief at the sound of her favorite voice in the world. "Yes, it is. Hi! I've missed you so much."

"What's going on over there? Why are you freaking out?"

"I..." Emma trails off. She casts a quick glance around the apartment to ensure that Mary Margaret isn't home. She had been on her way out the door when Emma came home, a reusable shopping bag in her hand. She had turned her face away, but not before Emma had noticed her red-rimmed eyes and the tear streaks not fully washed off from her cheeks.

She still feels terrible about it.

"It's Mary Margaret. She asked to adopt me."

"She did?" On the other end of the phone, Regina sounds overjoyed. "Oh Emma, that's wonderful!" she exclaims.

"Yeah, it is," Emma says weakly.

She can almost imagine Regina's eyes narrowing in her hotel room in New York City or wherever she is now. "You don't sound excited," she observes. "Why not? This is what you've always wanted, isn't it."

"It is, but-"

"But what?" Regina demands. "Why is there a 'but?' You like Mary Margaret. You want - no, you _need _a family. So does she." Suddenly there's a sharp inhalation, and Regina says quietly, "Please tell me you didn't say no."

"I didn't say anything," admits Emma. "I kind of ran out the door before any words came out."

Regina sighs in exasperation. "What's your problem?" she asks tiredly.

"What do you mean? Wait, are you mad at me? This is a big decision! I have...there are things I have to consider. Pros, and cons, and - just stuff." Even as she's talking, Emma is aware that she sounds like an idiot, but she can't take back what she's already said and done, and she can't seem to stop her mouth from moving.

"Really? What could you possibly have to consider?" Regina's voice is becoming shrill, almost frantic. "There are no cons! You were literally just offered everything you ever wanted and you ran away!"

"It's not that simple!" Emma protests.

"Please explain how exactly it's not simple, because it seems to me like Mary Margaret loves you, and you love her, and you make each other happy. You're happy in Storybrooke! You have a home, decent grades, friends...and you have me," she adds quietly.

"Do I have you? When are you planning to come back from New York?"

"Stop changing the - wait, are you making this about me? You can't be serious. If you broke Mary Margaret's heart over me being in New York, then that's just the-"

"Obviously it's not just about you! There's...there are other factors, too. And I didn't break Mary Margaret's heart." Actually, she might have, but she's trying to squash the sinking, guilty feeling in her stomach so she only feels like an idiot and not an absolute monster. "Anyway, you hate her, so why do you care?"

That was obviously the wrong thing to say, Emma realizes as soon as she hears the half-gasp, half-sob from the other end of the line. Because Regina's feelings toward Mary Margaret fall firmly into the "not simple" category and even more firmly into the "not Emma Swan's place to talk about" category.

"Regina, I'm sorry," she says desperately. "I didn't mean-"

"Yes, you did," Regina mumbles, her voice thick and strained. "But, I suppose you're...you're not completely wrong."

"I shouldn't have said that. Can we just rewind this conversation and forget about it? Please? Sometimes my mouth moves before my brain."

She thinks she hears Regina almost chuckle. "At least you're aware of your issues," she sniffs. "Fine. I promise to forget you said that if you promise to say yes to Miss Blanchard."

Emma groans. "It's not-"

"It's not that simple, right. As much as I disagree with you on that, I suppose I'll be satisfied if you promise to talk to Mary Margaret about whatever makes it not simple for you."

"You really want this, don't you?"

"Yes, I want you to have a family. I want you to be happy. And however I feel about Miss Blanchard and our history doesn't change the fact that she'd be a good mother for you, or, at least not a bad one."

Emma nods. She can see it, if she really tries. She can see Mary Margaret as her mother. She can see a future together; she can see them watching movies and having family dinners at Granny's Diner and acting like the characters on _Gilmore Girls_ but with magic and little bird friends instead of snappy pop culture references; she can see Mary Margaret taking her off to college or moving her into her first apartment and giving her away at her wedding (which, in her imaginary future universe, is to Regina, but that's hardly the most important part); she can see herself coming back to Storybrooke on holidays with a gaggle of crazy kids who call Mary Margaret "Grandma" and eating pie and lasagna and discussing the latest rom-coms (although, maybe by that time there'll be a "Grandpa" in the picture, too, and Mary Margaret won't need to watch so many rom-coms).

She can see a happy ending, and it terrifies her.

Because much like magic and talking birds and fairies and werewolves, it's not something she's ever truly believed in before. But maybe if all those things can be real, then happiness can be, too.

"Emma? Are you there?"

"What? Yeah, I'm here," Emma says, quickly bringing her mind back to the present. "And yeah, I'll talk to M&amp;M."

"Good," Regina replies quietly.

"So, tell me about New York."

Regina launches into a long description of her vacation and her attempts at bonding with her father. "We went upstate to this farm one of his colleagues owns and went riding, which was...interesting. He also took me to see _Wicked_ on Broadway."

"Oh! I had a group home a few years ago that took us to see that. Did you like it?"

She can almost see Regina's nose wrinkling and the thought makes her giggle. "There was too much singing, and the depictions of magic were very strange," she says seriously. "I don't understand why someone would want to make monkeys fly."

Emma really does giggle, now. "Have you never read _The Wizard of Oz_? Or seen the movie? It's kind of a famous story."

"No, I have not."

"Still, you go to school with fairies and werewolves and you don't think flying monkeys could be real?"

"I believe they could exist," Regina says seriously. "In fact, they probably do, somewhere. I just don't understand the appeal."

"Whatever. You have to at least admit that 'Defying Gravity' is a good song. That was, like, my anthem at age thirteen. I also really wanted Glinda and Elphaba to get together."

"That doesn't surprise me. But, yes, I did enjoy that particular number."

"Well, anyway, I think you should read the original, and then maybe see the musical again and you'll understand it better. It's about-"

"I think you misunderstand me," Regina interrupts; she's trying to make her voice serious but Emma can imagine the playful twinkle in her eye. "I'm not particularly interested in seeing that particular musical ever again."

"Fine," Emma laughs. "Tell your dad to bring me next time."

The two girls continue to joke around and discuss anything but the heavy topics weighing on both of their minds until Emma hears Mary Margaret's key in the front door.

"I'm going to talk to her about it," she promises Regina.

"Good. And, Emma, I hope you make the right choice, but whatever you decide...I just want you to be happy."

"Yeah, you too. It was good to talk to you. You sound...better."

"Thank you. I think I am. A little bit every day."

xx

Mary Margaret's face is thankfully free of tears when she returns from shopping, but as much as she tries to hide it, the devastated look in her eyes remains, and Emma feels awful.

"Was that Regina?" her foster mother asks, gesturing to the phone without meeting Emma's eyes.

"Yup."

"Is everything okay with her?"

"Yup."

Mary Margaret sighs and looks vaguely frustrated at Emma's monosyllabic answers, but she just says, "I'm glad to hear it," and starts unpacking the groceries. Emma silently joins her, and for a few minutes they allow themselves to bask in the comfort of this little routine they've developed.

_This could work,_ Emma thinks to herself.

"Mary Margaret," she says softly. "I'm sorry about before."

Her foster mother heaves an exhausted sigh and stares at the ground for a moment before finally meeting Emma's eyes. "Me, too," she replies. "I shouldn't have sprung something like that on you so soon. I should have known. I just thought...I don't know."

"It's okay. You didn't do anything wrong. I was just a little surprised."

"That's putting it mildly," Mary Margaret mutters.

"It was my fault, though," Emma says quickly, trying to reassure her. "I have a lot of issues that have nothing to do with you. I wasn't...my horrible reaction had nothing to do with you, personally."

"Maybe not, but if I do want to be your mother, then it's my job to understand those issues."

"You really want to? Still?" Emma asks, unable to keep her voice from squeaking like a small child's. "To be my mother, I mean."

"Yes, I do."

Emma doesn't reply right away - she can't, really. Her voice is stuck somewhere in her throat and there's a strange burning sensation behind her eyes that feels suspiciously like tears.

"Well, that's...great," she finally chokes out.

Mary Margaret looks pretty close to tears herself. "You don't have to decide right away, if you don't want to. Take as much time as you need. And, you know, if you decide you don't want to make it official, that's okay, too. You can just stay as long as you want to."

"Really?" Emma sniffles, staring wide-eyed at her foster mother. She's heard of families like this, who are actually in it to give kids a good home regardless of their own desires, but she had never imagined actually having one of her own. "Even if I say no, I can still stay with you?"

"Of course!" Mary Margaret exclaims, looking scandalized that the opposite would even be possible. "Emma, I love you. I think you're a truly amazing young woman, and while I would like nothing more than to be able to call you my daughter, I would be honored to be part of your life in whatever way you deem appropriate."

Emma doesn't hear anything after "I love you." She's crying way too hard. Mary Margaret holds her arms out, and she falls into them gratefully, burying her face in her foster mother's sweater and knowing all will be forgiven if she happens to get a little snot on it.

She's gotten hugs before - she's gotten hugs from Mary Margaret before - but it's never felt like this. As she allows their bodies to practically melt against each other, she thinks this must be what unconditional love feels like.

She holds on for a long time.

xx

For the next week, Emma practically floats through her daily routine like she doesn't have a care in the world. She still hasn't given Mary Margaret an answer, and the older woman hasn't asked, but things between them have been good - better than good, even. Mary Margaret starts teaching her to cook - only basic things, but better than cereal - and in between some slightly adventurous moments in the kitchen, Emma starts to tell her foster mother tiny snippets of stories from her past, and Mary Margaret returns the favor.

She learns that Mary Margaret's mother died her sophomore year of high school and she hasn't spoken to her father since he got remarried and moved to Florida. She learns that teenaged Mary Margaret apparently went through a really difficult time and made some "questionable decisions" before some caring teachers convinced her to get her life together, which is what inspired her to become a high school teacher instead of an animal trainer.

Emma starts helping her feed the birds in her classroom each morning and even gets one to perch on her finger for a few minutes, though she still can't understand how on earth Mary Margaret can talk to them.

"They're loyal creatures," Mary Margaret informs her. "If you love them, and they love you, they will always find you."

"Interesting," Emma remarks, letting the bird on her finger fly away out the window. "Do you think that's true about people, too?"

"I certainly hope so."

The teacher has a thoughtful, dreamy look in her eyes, and Emma knows it's somehow related to her date the previous night, but she doesn't ask because Mary Margaret's relationship with Mr. Nolan is the one topic that appears to be implicitly off-limits.

"I think it's true," says a voice from the doorway.

Emma gasps and turns around slowly.

_It's not..._

_It can't be..._

_It is._

"Regina!" Mary Margaret exclaims with a smile. "Welcome back!"

"Hi," Regina says quietly, almost shyly. She looks good, Emma thinks. Not that she doesn't always look beautiful, but something is different. She's more relaxed, maybe; still sad, but less devastated. Sometime in between when she left Storybrooke and now, she's cropped off most of her hair so that it now stops just under her chin. It takes Emma's eyes a moment to adjust, but she likes it. It looks bouncier, lighter.

That's it: lighter. Regina looks lighter.

She starts walking hesitantly towards the pair at the window before Mary Margaret gives Emma an elbow-nudge and a pointed look, and the blonde takes off running across the classroom before pulling Regina into her arms and spinning her around. The other girl giggles and holds on tightly.

"You're home; I missed you," Emma says, full of overwhelming and conflicting emotions as she sets Regina down. She places a soft, chaste kiss on her cheek and rests their foreheads together. "I like your haircut."

"I'm home," Regina repeats, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply like she wants to breathe in the smell of Storybrooke - or maybe just the smell of Emma. "I'm really home."

"You didn't mention anything about when you were coming back," Emma observes. They'd spoken on the phone several times and exchanged a few more emails, but Regina had only mentioned returning to Storybrooke in abstract terms. There was a part of Emma that wondered if she actually wanted to come back at all.

"I know, I...I wasn't sure when it was going to happen, or if my dad would agree. So I didn't want to get your hopes up. Or mine. I really, really missed you."

"I missed you, too, but it seems like your vacation treated you well."

"It did," Regina agrees. "I really needed it, but I think the most important thing it did was remind me of how much I love my home, and Storybrooke is my home. This is where I have to be."

"So, you're staying, then? Because I am, so, you know..."

Regina nods and holds Emma more tightly. "I talked to my dad, and we agree that staying here would be the best thing for me. He has to go back to China, but I'm going to stay at Dr. Hopper's house. He's not exactly thrilled about it, but he understands. He knows I need you. And he promised to actually visit me this time."

"That's good. I mean, it's better than you having to move to China, at least. Are you okay with it?"

"I'm okay," Regina says decisively. "I'm with you, so I'm okay."

It's a simple statement, and in the grand scheme of things, there's probably a lot more to be discussed, but suddenly, nothing else seems to matter.


	20. Labels

**A/N: **Hey everyone! Sorry again for all the waiting, and thanks for your patience and sticking with this story!

**Chapter 20: Labels**

Prior to this moment, Emma would have said that she moderately enjoyed hugging. She hadn't had a huge number of opportunities in her life to engage in the activity, but she certainly appreciated it when given the chance. Still, it had never been something she felt too strongly about. Never something she felt she _needed._

But now, with Regina's arms around her, holding on as hard as possible, their bodies pressed flush against each other like even a millimeter of air is too much distance, Emma feels a need to amend her opinion. Hugging, in general, is decent. Hugging Regina is like finding water in the middle of a desert.

She never thought she'd be so dependent on another person, but this confirms it: she needs Regina to live.

"I missed you so much," she whispers, deeply inhaling the scent of apples and grass and wood that pervades Storybrooke and that seems to have lingered on Regina even after a couple of weeks in the big city.

Regina buries her face in Emma's shoulder and it's fairly obvious she's crying.

Emma isn't sure how long they stand there, clinging to each other, rocking slightly back and forth and letting themselves bask in the sensation of being whole again, but she's sure she never wants to stop. They do, though, eventually. The five-minute warning bell rings, and the classroom is far from a private space. Their grips gradually weaken, and the space between them increases until there's enough room for Regina to lift one hand to wipe her eyes, and both girls attempt to pull themselves together.

"So, Regina, Emma says you didn't like _Wicked_," Mary Margaret accuses, her voice soft so as not to disturb the blue jay she's stroking.

"Why is everyone so fixated on that? I never said I hated it, I just don't understand all the hype. The sun doesn't rise and set on whether I enjoyed some dumb musical."

"I'm personally offended that you just called it dumb, but I suppose you're entitled to your opinion," Mary Margaret says lightly.

"Even if it's wrong," Emma mutters, playfully shoving the other girl. "Good thing I love you anyway."

"Well, it's a good thing I love you, even though you're the most irritating person I've ever met," Regina shoots back.

"So nice to see you two getting along," Ruby jokes as she enters the classroom. "Welcome back, Regina."

Suddenly, a shocked exclamation comes from just outside the classroom door. "Regina!" Two seconds later, Regina is practically on the ground, having been tackled by an overly enthusiastic Henry.

"Geez, kid, play it cool," Emma laughs.

"Oh yeah, like you did?" the freshman says accusingly. "I wasn't even here, and I know how it went. I'm surprised you didn't leave your Golden Retriever slobber marks on her face." Still, he reluctantly drops his arms to his sides and tries to look cool and aloof.

Regina hugs him fiercely, the biggest grin imaginable on her face. She briefly rests her head on top of his and whispers, "I missed you, Henry."

"I missed you, too," he says seriously. "This one," he grumbles, jabbing his thumb in Emma's direction, "can't even remember how to properly find the slope of a line half the time."

"Delta X over Delta Y, right?"

"Oh god," Ruby mutters, shaking her head. "I didn't think it was possible for someone to be worse at math than me. I feel bad for you, Henry."

"You're never allowed to leave me alone with her again," Henry tells Regina. "You have to promise."

"I promise," laughs Regina. "And I would like to point out, once again, that you live with our teacher!"

"What? We don't talk about math at home. We're too busy gossiping about our love lives."

"Emma Swan, I swear, if you and Miss Blanchard talk about-"

"We don't talk about you," Mary Margaret say quickly. "Just Emma's five other love interests."

Regina shoots the teacher a glare that almost looks more affectionate than menacing, and Mary Margaret gives her a small smile. The other students have begun filing into the classroom, so Emma and Regina take their usual seats and open their books, not even remotely prepared to focus on class.

Emma reaches out under the table and grabs Regina's hand, lacing their fingers together and giving a tight squeeze. The brunette mutters, "I can't take notes like this," but she makes no attempt to remove her hand. If anything, she holds on tighter.

xx

If there's one person who doesn't seem particularly surprised to see Regina back at school, it's Zelena. Emma and Regina run into the older girl in the hall on their way to English, and the two half-sisters stare at each other awkwardly for a few minutes before Zelena mutters, "How are you."

Regina shrugs. "I've been better. And worse."

Zelena shifts her weight between her feet in obvious discomfort and nods. "So, are you staying in Storybrooke? Or going with your dad?"

"Which one are you hoping for?" Regina challenges.

"Well, it doesn't really bother me one way or the other. Personally, I'd choose to get out of here and never come back, but I don't really have that option, do I?" She stops briefly to consider. "I guess college isn't that far off."

Regina nods and gives her sister sympathetic half-smile. "I'm going to stay, at least for now. Storybrooke is my home, even without..." she trails off, struggling to maintain composure. Being away from town for a while may have helped some, but the loss of her mother and the aftermath of all that's happened are still very raw.

Zelena looks vaguely conflicted, like she wants to make some remark but recognizes that it would be in poor taste. Emma internally commends her for keeping silent - she knows Zelena has her own issues, that are just as raw, surrounding Cora.

Maybe someday, talking about the abandonment and years of emotional abuse will help the sisters. Heal them, even. Maybe one day they can actually be a family together.

But that day probably won't be today.

"I like your haircut," Zelena finally mutters. "It makes your face look less fat."

Emma sighs and hardens her features into a glare. Of course Zelena couldn't leave well-enough alone. She starts lifting her hand to place it comfortingly on the small of Regina's back, but shockingly, the other girl actually laughs.

"Thanks, big sis!" she says cheerfully. "See you around."

xx

Dr. Hopper, as her new acting guardian, has all but forbidden Regina to step inside Gold's classroom, believing that continuing to study magic will do her more harm than good. Not that she really wants to, anyway. Not yet.

So, the class remains Emma's personal tutoring session with the creepiest guy she's ever met. When Regina questions her about why she doesn't just quit like everyone else, she says she hasn't gotten around to taking it off her schedule yet, and a good attendance record is one of the terms of her probation. She can't admit, even to herself, that she doesn't actually want to quit. Terrified as she is of these powers that shouldn't even exist, she kind of enjoys them. She likes being the special one for once in her life.

Today, Gold greets her with the she scariest smile she's ever seen. "I hear that Miss Mills is back from her trip. Is she not attending this class anymore?"

"Yeah, apparently she's not interested in learning magic anymore," Emma mutters. "Wonder why."

Gold looks slightly perturbed for a second, but it quickly fades. "She never was particularly interested after she learned she couldn't use it to raise the dead. Anyway, I do hope she's doing well."

"You mean after you killed her mom? Yeah, she's doing as well as can be expected," Emma says sarcastically. She wonders, briefly, why he and Mother Superior aren't in jail for that, but she quickly drops the thought. She's not sure how an argument about enchanted hearts and fairy dust could possibly hold up in court, and her head hurts thinking about how to keep the two most powerful living magic users in town locked up for very long.

"For the last time, I did not-"

"Yeah, yeah, you didn't kill Cora," Emma interrupts. "We'll just have to agree to disagree on that one. Now, are you going to teach me magic, or what?"

Gold raises his eyebrows and looks almost impressed with her. "She may have been Regina's mother, but Cora did her no favors. Actually, she never did anything that helped either of her daughters."

"I actually agree with that, but I don't think that means she had to die."

"With all due respect, you barely knew her."

"I had her hand in my chest!" Emma counters angrily. "And Regina knew her pretty well and didn't want her to die."

Gold sighs. "In order to do the magic I plan to try with you today, it's essential that you not hate me, so let's say we end this argument and resume our study."

"Fine," Emma scowls. The people in this town have some ridiculously fucked up logic.

"Excellent. Now, one thing I observed when you and Regina were in class together is that when you made physical contact, you were able to join your powers."

"Wait, what?" Emma demands, head spinning. "Are you talking about - but you weren't even in the room when that happened!"

Scoffing, Gold gestures to the small mirror on the wall. Emma stifles a gasp. "Are you serious? Is this...? You know what, I don't even want to - wait, yes, I do. How many of these do you have?"

"Just here and in my office," the teacher says dismissively. "I have a lot of valuable and sensitive magical objects that I like to keep an eye on."

"Wait, just wait. Does this mean you saw everything, with Zelena and...you were watching the whole time?" Emma sputters. "And you never did anything?"

"Not everything, but what did you expect me to do? It wasn't my conflict to interfere in, and I wanted to see if Regina would sink or swim. Magicians' true abilities tend to reveal themselves in stressful situations, when their instincts kick in. Much like yours did, actually."

Emma has to stop and take a breath, because she's seeing red. If he wasn't so powerful, she'd focus her own magic to blast him into next week without a second of hesitation. "Yeah, well, she could have sunk!" she exclaims.

"But she didn't."

"It was a close call!"

"I may have underestimated the damage that Cora did to her psyche," Gold admits. "But the fact is that she didn't sink, thanks in part to you. Which brings us back to the question of your powers."

Emma groans and tries not to roll her eyes as Gold describes for her how he's going to attempt to join their magic together to move a desk across the room. This doesn't make any sense, and she knows before it even happens that it's not going to work.

When he gives the signal, she joins their hands, trying her best not to shudder. She can feel his magic, buzzing underneath his skin, but there's none of the shock that she felt in her own body the first time she accidentally joined powers with Regina. None of his magic goes into her, and for this she's actually quite grateful.

The teacher shakes his head. "It's not working."

She considers telling him that she was pretty much able to figure that out for herself, but decides against it. She's not sure how much sass he'll tolerate before setting her on fire or turning her into a snail or something worse, and she doesn't want to risk it, not when she's been having such a great day.

Instead, she asks, "Why?"

"Well, it's not something inherent to your power, the ability to join to others, so my guess would be that you and Regina have something special. A magical connection, if you will."

"How did we get one of those?"

The teacher looks about as baffled as she feels. "I honestly haven't seen anything like it before."

xx

Emma leaves Gold's classroom with a million different thoughts dancing around in her head that she's not sure how to interpret. So she decides not to interpret them at all, instead heading towards Mary Margaret's classroom. Her foster mother had promised to take her to buy a cell phone this afternoon, and while that's quickly dropped down to last place on her list of priorities now that Regina is available to speak to in person, she figures that it's something fun they could potentially do together.

She stops short outside the door, blinking in confusion, when she hears voices inside the classroom. She doesn't recall Mary Margaret mentioning a meeting this afternoon. Maybe someone just stopped by?

The door cracked slightly open, and a quick peek inside reveals Regina, of all people, standing in front of Mary Margaret's desk. Emma quickly jumps away from the door and flattens her back against the wall, hoping she wasn't noticed. Not that she thinks either of those two people would be unhappy to see her, but she has no idea what sort of moment this is. Are they going to hug and make up? Kill each other?

She knows she shouldn't eavesdrop, but she thinks that if it's the latter, someone needs to be around to break things up.

She's caught completely off-guard when it's Regina's voice she hears first, "Miss...Mary Margaret, I think I owe you an apology, for my behavior toward you over the last two years."

The math teacher seems just as shocked. "Regina, no!" she exclaims. "I'm the one who needs to apologize to you. I didn't - I never intended-"

"I know," Regina says quietly. "And you did apologize. I just didn't want to hear it."

"Do you want to hear it now?"

Regina sighs. "I don't know. I understand where you were coming from. You didn't know about Mother. You didn't think...you didn't have any idea what would happen."

"But maybe if I did think, I would have had an idea," Mary Margaret argues, her voice sad and resigned. "I just want you to know that I have never stopped regretting what happened."

"Me neither," Regina rasps. Emma can practically hear the tears in her voice, and she wants to run into the room and pull the other girl into her arms and rub her back until she lets them all out. Regina clears her throat and continues, "But it might have happened anyway. Mother...Mother was..."

"You don't have to say it," Mary Margaret reassures her. "But thank you."

Regina's voice cracks as she says, "I know that you thought you were looking out for me."

"I did. It ended up completely backfiring, but-"

"Thank you," Regina whispers. "For not stopping."

After that, Emma stops hearing sound coming from the classroom, except for a few muffled noises that could be sobs, and she sneakily ventures another peek through the door. She's simultaneously surprised and unsurprised by what she sees: Regina and Mary Margaret holding each other, tears streaming down both of their faces.

Emma feels a bit of moisture in her own eyes as she quickly flees down the hall. This isn't her moment to intrude on, but she feels a small amount of pride at perhaps having had a hand in bringing it about.

She leaves a note on Mary Margaret's car windshield that she's walking home with Graham and Ruby, thoughts of phone shopping entirely forgotten.

xx

Regina's dad leaves for Boston that night, in preparation for his flight that leaves early the next morning. Regina insists that Emma accompany her to Granny's to say goodbye to him, which makes the blonde feel entirely awkward, but she figures she can handle it for one evening.

Henry Mills does not make the situation any easier. He reaches out to shake her hand and says, "Nice to meet you, Emma." Emma shoots Regina a confused look - she didn't mention anything about her dad having memory issues, but the older man catches her glance and laughs. "Of course, we've already been introduced," he says with a good-natured smile, "but I had no idea, at the time, that I was meeting my daughter's girlfriend, so I feel the need for a do-over."

"Daddy!" Regina hisses, looking thoroughly embarrassed.

"I...um..." Emma fumbles for words, eyes darting around to avoid focusing anywhere but Regina's beet-red cheeks or her father's humorous brown eyes. "We haven't really been using labels like that just yet, but..."

"Oh." Henry's forehead wrinkles, and he blinks confusedly several times. "The way she talks about you, I just assumed - but you're right, she never did use that word, now that I think about it, and I've clearly made both of you uncomfortable, so I'm very sorry."

Emma shrugs. "No harm done, right?"

Regina squeezes her hand under the table and clears her throat loudly. "Should we order?"

Mr. Mills checks his watch and says, "Actually, angel, I have to get going a little earlier than planned - it seems that I misread the bus schedule earlier. But your dinner is on me," he adds, slipping his daughter a twenty dollar bill.

"Oh. But Daddy, I..." Regina looks heartbroken, and Emma feels like punching her dad in the face, not for the first time. But then he pulls her close and whispers something that sounds suspiciously like "go for it."

Regina nods and sniffles and offers to walk him to his car, telling Emma that she'll be right back. The blonde shrugs, watching father and daughter walk out the door arm in arm. She plays with a stray straw wrapper on the table and waits, confused and possibly a little nervous about what's going to happen next.

Regina returns a few minutes later, wiping red-rimmed eyes but, thankfully, smiling. "Sorry about my dad," she mutters as she wipes her nose on a napkin and slips into the seat previously occupied by her father, across the booth from Emma.

"About the whole calling me your girlfriend thing? Don't worry about it," Emma says quickly. "It's not like he's the first one, and at least he meant it in a nice way."

"He did," Regina agrees, fidgeting nervously with her ring. "But it made me realize, you know, we never really talked about labels. I mean, we said we wanted to have something, but..."

"But then all this other crap happened and we never got a chance to put a name on it?" Emma guesses.

"Exactly. So, I was wondering-" Regina takes a deep breath and looks Emma straight in the eyes "-do you want to be my girlfriend? I know, of course, that I come with a lot of baggage - and, to be honest, you do, too - and such a label carries the weight of-"

Emma interrupts eagerly, "Are you kidding? Of course I do!"

Regina moves her mouth like she wants to say something, but nothing comes out except a tiny, barely audible squeal. She quickly reaches across the table with hands trembling, for once, not with trauma but excitement, and interlocks their fingers together.

The two girls stare at each other for a moment and lean in closer across the booth, identical smiles on their faces revealing hearts about to burst, too overjoyed in the moment to ruin it with words.

It's Granny who interrupts. "Are you two going to order food?" she demands. "I run a diner, not kissing booth."

Regina coughs, and Emma mutters, "Right," and both girls release their hands and quickly flip through the menu, cheeks reddening.

"Swan, do you want your usual, or are you going to change it up for once."

"I'll have the usual," she says quickly, embarrassed that her voice sounds like she's on helium.

"I'll have the same." Emma raises her eyebrows in shock at her girlfriend - her _girlfriend! -_ who only shrugs.

Emma and Regina exhale simultaneously when the gruff woman walks away, tentatively rejoining their hands.

"So, I guess this is our first date," Emma observes with a cheesy grin she can't seem to wipe off.

"Is Granny watching us?" Regina asks.

"No, why?"

"Because," she explains, sliding out of her seat and moving quickly back into the one next to Emma, still holding onto the blonde's hand, "I really want to kiss my girlfriend."


	21. Home

**A/N: **Well, folks, this is the final installment of our tale. It's short and fluffy, but I like it and I hope you do, too. Thanks so much to everyone who has favorited, reviewed, and generally come along for the ride. I'm so grateful for all the support, and hope you are satisfied with the final destination!

**Chapter 21: Home**

"Hey, our first kiss as an official couple!" Emma says, beaming, when they break apart.

Regina groans. "If you're going to be this lame, I might have to reevaluate the whole 'couple' thing. I can't be seen in public with such an embarrassing person."

"Shut up, you love me," laughs Emma. "And my lameness."

"You're right. I do." Regina leans her forehead against Emma's and whispers, "I think I've loved you since the moment you told me you thought Elizabeth Bennet married Darcy for his house."

"Oh, yeah? Well, I win, because I loved you from the first moment I saw you. Love at first sight - ha!"

"I wasn't aware that our love was a competition."

"It's not," Emma agrees. "But if it was, I would totally win, because I got the best prize of all: you."

Regina's entire face momentarily melts like she might start getting emotional again, but the teasing sparkle in her eyes quickly returns. "Actually, I'm pretty sure _I'm_ the one who got the best prize."

"You're not, but thank you." Emma goes in for another kiss, drawing Regina in even closer towards her and running her hand up and down the other girl's back. Regina moans involuntarily; it's quiet, practically inaudible, but she still blushes and pulls away.

"We probably shouldn't make out in the middle of a crowded diner," she whispers.

Emma shrugs. "I don't think anyone cares. But we can get out of here, if you want," she suggests with a playful wiggle of her eyebrows. "I'm not that interested in my burger anymore - your lips are much more delicious." After a brief pause and reconsideration of her words, she adds, "I meant for that to sound sweet and romantic, but I think it actually came off pretty creepy."

"It did have hints of cannibalism," Regina laughs, "but I kind of liked it."

"We're just going to forget that I ever said that, okay? But, on that note, do you want to get out of here?"

Regina shakes her head. "We'll have plenty of time to kiss in the future, since neither of us is planning to leave this ridiculous town anytime soon."

"Ha! You admitted it! You admitted that Storybrooke is ridiculous!"

"Of course it's ridiculous," Regina mutters. "And it's not like we're going to live here forever, but for now, at least, it's home."

"Yes, it's home," Emma agrees, putting an arm around Regina's shoulders. Her girlfriend - even the thought of that word makes her whole face light up - hums softly and nuzzles her nose against the base of Emma's neck. They both sit in content silence, soaking up the comfort and safety and love they've managed to find in each other's arms.

"Hey, Swan!" Graham hollers from across the diner, where he and Mulan are setting up the dartboard. "You wanna play? Mills, you can come, too!"

Emma rolls her eyes at her friend, annoyed with him for interrupting her perfect moment. "Dude, can't you see I'm on a date? With my _girlfriend_?"

"Took you long enough," mutters Mulan, while Ruby shouts from behind the counter, "I knew it! Pay up, Graham - you owe me five bucks."

"It's not fair - you have your wolf senses," Graham grumbles, but he reluctantly hands over a five dollar bill to a smirking Ruby, who quickly deposits it in her apron pocket before Granny can see.

"You should have learned by now not to bet against me."

Graham scowls and shoots a pleading glance toward Emma and Regina's table. "Just one game? It won't interrupt your date too much."

"Come on, Graham, stop whining like a little girl and get ready to get your ass kicked," orders Mulan. "Don't worry, guys. He won't bother you anymore. Congratulations, by the way," she adds with a smile.

"And Storybrooke is once again ridiculous," Emma laughs as Granny brings over their burgers. A disapproving but still somehow good-natured glare paints the elderly woman's face. "I'm sorry if this first date isn't going exactly as you envisioned."

"It's perfect."

"Well, even if it wasn't, we'd have plenty of opportunities to get it right. Hopefully we can stick with this couple thing for a long time, yeah?"

"Hopefully," Regina agrees, eyes suddenly clouding with doubt. She swallows hard and wraps both arms around Emma's torso.

"Thinking about Dani?" Emma asks gently. Regina nods and buries her face, and Emma can't think of anything to say to make it all better, so she doesn't.

And maybe that's okay.

"Dr. Hopper and my dad both said that I have to let go of the past if I want to be happy again," Regina sniffs, "but it's difficult."

"Maybe you don't have to, though," Emma reasons. She hasn't entirely thought this through, but it makes sense in her head. "I think you can try to let go of the hurt but hold onto the good memories. Like, what's a really good memory you have with Dani?"

"You really want to know?"

"Yeah, sure. I mean, I told you about my exes. She's important to you; she's part of your story, and I want to know all of your story."

Regina inhales shakily and says, "She was really into nature. She used to find the beauty in the smallest things. We would ride through the woods together for hours and just listen to the birds or smell the flowers. She taught me how to appreciate the simple things in life, which was kind of the opposite of my upbringing."

"She sounds like a really positive person," Emma observes, gently squeezing Regina's hand.

"She was. Unfortunately, she was also nine years older than me, which seems to be the part everyone fixated on."

"It is kind of a big age gap."

"Yes, and looking back, I can see why someone might have thought it wasn't healthy. But Dani...she wasn't like that, at all. She was very respectful of the fact that it was my first relationship, and she never pushed me to go farther than I wanted. But, of course, when Mary Margaret found out she was twenty-three..."

"Her first instinct was to tell your mom."

Regina nods her head against Emma's shoulder and takes a shuddering breath, trying to hold back tears. "I don't blame Mary Margaret," she says quietly, "not anymore. It's just...I was so lost and angry and...I suppose it was safer to blame her than my mother."

"Probably," Emma agrees, shivering at the thought of Cora. "But she blames herself. She really regrets what happened."

"I know that. We talked about it - and a lot of other things - this afternoon."

Emma is about to say that she knows, but she quickly stops herself. She's pretty sure she wasn't supposed to overhear that particular conversation. Instead, she comments, "That's great."

"It is." Straightening and wiping her eyes, Regina turns to Emma and says in a very businesslike tone, "Speaking of Mary Margaret and conversations with her, why haven't you said yes?"

Caught completely off guard, Emma blushes and ducks her head. Why _hasn't _she said yes? "I don't know," she finally admits.

"I still don't really understand why you didn't just say yes in the first place. I mean, being adopted _is_ what you've always wanted, isn't it? I understand being caught off guard, but-"

"I actually was adopted, once," Emma cuts in, carefully avoiding her girlfriend's eyes.

"Wait...what?"

"When I was a baby, a family adopted me, and then they sent me back anyway a couple of years later, when they got pregnant with a kid of their own." This still hurts to talk about, and she feels the pressure building in her eyes, a red hot burning sensation like she wants to cry. It's even worse than her birth parents abandoning her: at least in their case, she can argue that they hadn't yet formed an attachment to their hours old baby, and there were circumstances beyond their control that forced them to give her up. The Swans had literally decided she wasn't good enough and replaced her. She hasn't spoken about this in years - tries not to think about it, really, but how can she not - and she anxiously awaits Regina's judgment.

Regina's eyes fill with tears, "Emma, I'm so sorry," she whispers. "I had no idea."

"It's fine," mutters Emma. This was a mistake; she doesn't want pity. "I'm over it."

"You're obviously not, and that's okay. But if it makes you feel any better, Mary Margaret's not going to do that."

"She might! You never know - this relationship with David could take off. She's still young. They could definitely have a baby together." It all comes out in a rush: fears and anxieties she didn't even know she had. She waits for Regina to tell her she's being silly, but she doesn't.

"Even if she gets married to David and they have a baby together," Regina says slowly, "which I will admit is a possibility, there's no way she's going to abandon you. We've had our conflicts over the years, but Mary Margaret doesn't abandon people. She never gives up. I speak from experience."

Emma has to give a shaky laugh at that. "Yeah, I guess you do. And you're right."

"Does that mean you're going to say yes?" Regina's eyes are bright with hope, and she bounces a little on her seat in such a childish, giddy way that's so out of character for her that Emma finds it utterly adorable.

She twirls a French fry between her fingers and thinks about it. Maybe it's time to take a chance. "It does," she decides.

Regina grins hugely and points at the door. "Great, you can tell her right now!"

"I'll - what?" Emma exclaims, groaning as she turns around to see Mary Margaret entering the diner with David Nolan, apparently out on their own date. One major problem with Storybrooke's size, she observes, is that there are very few options for dining out. Maybe in a year or so, when she and Regina are licensed to drive, they can have a romantic night or two out of town.

She's pulled abruptly out of her daydreams of the future by Regina's voice excitedly calling Mary Margaret over to their table. "Regina!" she hisses with a pointed glare at the other girl, who ignores it.

"Emma has something to tell you," Regina informs the math teacher.

They both look at her expectantly, and Emma blushes a deep shade of red. "I...um...about the opening to be your daughter," she stutters, trying to cover her nerves with humor. It's not working like it usually does. "Is it still...available?"

"Of course it is!" Mary Margaret cries excitedly. "Are you still interested?"

"I...yes," she finally manages to choke out. Suddenly, there are arms around her and she doesn't even know whose they are, and she's crying and Mary Margaret's crying and Regina's crying, and even David comes over to get in on the action. The other patrons of the diner actually applaud when they find out what's going on, and it's simultaneously the happiest and most embarrassing moment of her life.

"Um...I guess you can leave now," she mumbles awkwardly when it all dies down. "I mean, you've got your own evening plans, and we don't really need you chaperoning our date." Honestly, it's not that she minds having a parent breathing down her neck - it means she has parents - she wants to get this night back on track. You only get one first date.

But then her girlfriend clears her throat, and Mary Margaret smooths her sweater and slips into the booth across from them. "Actually, there's something very important I need to discuss with Regina," she says seriously. Emma glances between the two of them in confusion. Hadn't they already discussed enough important topics that day?

"Now, I know that you and I have our own history, and we've talked about a great many things in the past, including topics related to Emma. However, now that you're officially dating and she's on the way to officially being my daughter, I think it's time we talked about you dating my daughter."

Emma blushes, and Regina tries to hide a smirk as she replies, "Is this where you start to question me about my intentions? Rest assured, Miss Blanchard, I will never do anything to harm your daughter."

"I have no doubt your intentions are honorable," Mary Margaret says with mock seriousness, "but I must warn you that if you hurt her in any way, I will destroy you."

"Good, then the feeling is mutual."

The two women meet each other's eyes and burst out laughing, and Emma rolls her eyes.

"You guys," she groans. Not that she'd ever admit it, but the fact that the two of them obviously planned this actually makes a huge bubble of happiness rise up through her chest, into her throat, and as Regina nuzzles her head against her shoulder and Mary Margaret grabs her hand from across the table, she's afraid it might burst out of her at any minute.

"When did you have time to plan this whole thing?"

"We came up with it about five minutes after you stopped eavesdropping on us this afternoon."

Emma guiltily stares at her lap. "You knew about that?"

"I'm actually a little hurt that you think we're that stupid," Regina jokes. "And you should know by now about your mother's super-acute avian hearing.

_Your mother._ The phrase makes her heart grow so many sizes that she almost ignores the bird thing. Not that it really bothers her anymore...much.

"I am the happiest creature in the world," she declares. "I may be even happier than Lizzie Bennet, even though there's no Pemberley in this town."

Mary Margaret laughs, and Regina elbows her lightly in the side and grumbles at her to eat her burger.

It may have taken sixteen years and a well-above-average number of bumps in the road, but in this moment, every single one of them feels worth it. She'd gladly go through a lifetime of hardship if it would lead her to these people. To this place.

Storybrooke may be the strangest town in the universe, and she still doesn't quite understand how it's real, but it's home.

She's home.


End file.
